As “the month of love” approaches once again, many celebrate their relationships with chocolates, candies, and flowers. However, for many high school students, this time simply emphasizes the seemingly ongoing pressure to be in a relationship, especially among high-schoolers.

“I think that there can definitely be pressure to be in a relationship because of how fast things move sometimes,” Sahara Knapp ‘22 said. 

For many, being in a high school relationship brings up a lot of drama they might otherwise not have to deal with. 

According to Micah Daniels ‘23, these relationships can potentially be very toxic, as friends can easily influence one’s opinion of their partner. 

“There is all the pressure from their friends,” he said. “The person you’re with, their friends will influence their decisions about you, or try to.” 

Many would agree with the sentiment that high school relationships tend to sometimes be a catalyst for drama.

“High school relationships are fun, but very drama-filled and a little overwhelming,” Morgan Keyes ‘25 said. 

People often feel pressure to be in a relationship for a multitude of different reasons

Some would say there is also a potentially increased pressure to date if many of your close friends are in, or have been in, relationships. 

“I would say a lot of my friends are either talking to someone, or dating someone,” Keyes said. “I think there is a lot of pressure to get into/out of [relationships] because of the culture at East, everyone kind of knows everyone’s relationships.” 

Some would say that having a relationship is dependent on your own time, regardless of who around you is dating others. 

However, there is also a necessary level of maturity. According to Knapp, “High school relationships are fine as long as both of the people are mature enough to be dating.”

Whether you are in a relationship or not, there is no question that the exemplified pressure to be in a relationship is extremely prevalent among teenagers, and is dependent upon many different influences in their life. 

“People around you might want you to be in a relationship, but if you aren’t ready for one that’s okay” Maeve Coretti ‘22 said.

This article appeared in the February edition of The East Vision.