This House Supports Teen Dating*!

It’s about time I finally got a debate in with Ajab! Before I start I must say, I have never had such an annoying time researching for a debate topic, having to sieve through pages and pages of teenage dating websites which contaminated the search results. *Sigh*=Framework=Terms weren’t specified by Con, I assume that ‘support’ is to advocate, and that this would be a global value of society. What we advocate for will of course depend on the individual values that are held, and I will be arguing that teen dating (Dating, as defined by Con, for 13-19 year olds) is in accordance with these.I will determine the values of society via. the criterion of a form of ‘communal’ egoism, which depicts that the self-interest of the summative members of society determines that is good, which within the definitions of egoism is synonymous with the values of society. Hence what maximizes self-interest of society is this house’s ultimate value.=Aff Case=Contention 1 – Dating is pleasurable/positiveThis cannot be understated, dating and all its associated acts are significant sources of pleasure for the related parties up to and including sexual intercourse. Our anatomy is built for reproduction, and the process of dating triggers hormonal releases that drive the process. Given that dating is clearly valued by society for its blunt pleasure/happiness inducing effects, it lends strongly to the resolution that we should generally support dating in general given all other factors are equal.Of course, all other factors are not equal, and contrary to Con’s stance, these factors actually lend support to affirming the resolution (more on this later). Sarah Sorensen affirms it has been shown that early romantic relationships (teenage dating) are a tool for development of Identity and Interpersonal Skills, as well as providing emotional support for the parties involved. As children need to become autonomous from their parents, a romantic relationship can provide emotional support independent of existing family ties.[1]Moreover dating also plays an important role in the social status of teens with their peers, earning respect and a public demonstration of their attractiveness which also positively affects a teen’s self-esteem.[3]Contention 2 - Moderate Dating is Harmless To EducationA comprehensive study with a sample of over 9,000 12-16 year olds summates:“While dating overall had very little impact on educational outcomes, dating frequency and the involvement of early sexual activities did appear to matter. Interestingly, moderate dating did not show any impact on high school graduation, but showed a positive impact on college enrollment compared to non-daters. However, serious dating, consisting of early sexual intercourse and a high dating frequency, showed a significant negative impact.”[2]Note that “serious dating” involves sex at a very early age (13 or earlier), or excessive levels which are applicable to essentially any pleasurable activity taken in excess. This is what I am advocating in this debate, measured teen dating which may include sexual activity. To which the review affirms:“On the other hand, moderate dating may be beneficial because it does not take away too much time from studying, and the time taken away might be necessary for the students to develop social skills (e.g., interpersonal skills, or skills in coping with relatively complex relationships).”[2]Contention 3 – Within General Self-Interest of TeensThis is rather trivial to demonstrate, given that three in four people ages 16-18 have reported to having has a relationship/dated, and half had had a serious relationship with a boyfriend/girlfriend.[1] If teenage dating was not desirable among youths, we would expect to see significantly lower levels of such to occur.Furthermore, for teens that do date, it is within their own volition, and does not directly affect parties not involved, and prima facie does not affect the rights of others in any conceivable way. Given this, the only objections that would be relevant are those that involve only the teenage parties involved, it would have to be for their ‘greater self-interest’ for teenage dating not to be a powerful value.If they value a romantic relationship (which indeed would involve kissing etc.), and it doesn’t impinge on the values of others in any meaningful way, then why should this house not support it?Contention 4 – Within General Self-Interest of SocietyI will make the stronger case that all of society should value teenage dating. The reason for this is we desire a mature work-force, and we clearly value renewing our population and next-generation. By supporting teenage dating we in turn also support having a more emotionally experienced next-generation. The experience of early dating would leave them better equipped for the emotional turmoils later life will bring, including later relationships, childbirth, family problems, etc.[4]Also stemming from contention 3, if the values of society are at least partially influenced by the values of the individual, which is a very reasonable assumption, then contention 3 goes some significant way into affirming this one.ConclusionCon will need to bring a strong, positive case for affirming that teenage dating is not just slightly, but *significantly* against the values of society. I simply do not see how Con can accomplish this but I will leave that to him. Dating is an activity which brings enormous physical and emotional pleasure for the parties involved, and doesn’t have violate the rights of others, nor significantly impacts other factors, such as education.Given this, on balance this house supports teenage dating.References 1. http://www.actforyouth.net... 2. http://www.aebrjournal.org... 3. https://www.du.edu... 4. http://www.jstor.org...