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@GalacticTurtle @EmmyNoether Where I grew up anything between 14 and 17 would’ve been a “normal” age to start getting romantically involved. You wouldn’t have been considered a late start until 20ish or so.

very idea to consider dating someone was more likely due to outside influences (like how people date on TV shows) rather than any genuine desire to pursue a distinctly different relationship type from friendship

I mean… that’s the whole point of “dating” or stepping out or whatever. That it’s something different from a friendship and gives you something friendships don’t. You can have a truckload of friends and it still isn’t the same as an intimate relationship. And the interest for the latter is completely different from the interest for the former, not least because it involves the sheer physical desires as well. And as soon as you start developing that interest for a different kind of relationship, you start thinking about, well, “dating”.