Why is it that a 13 year old has to decide their sexual orientation? It seems the far from simple choice of straight or gay has been amplified somehow and now we have transgendered, bisexual, heterosexual, pansexual, wait, wait, wait... these are children.
I would like to think that most children should be deciding how they want to look, and what sort of music they listen to, what's the most interesting app on their phone. They should be worrying about their grades, friendships, bullies, and all the other drama that comes with being an early teenager.
Deciding what your sexual preference is at that age seems to be way too early of a decision, you don't even know who you are and how the world works yet. Sex is a complicated subject that should be left for a much older crowd. A preteen doesn't even know anything about it, even if they are looking at porn on the internet, and reading on how to do it. I can look at how to build a quantum computer on the net but if someone actually gave me all the pieces I wouldn't have a clue.
When I hear that a 14 year old girl has decided to tell me that she is bi-sexual she should also tell me that she is in love and wants to get married. Both of those statements seem preposterous to me. Last year you wanted a barbie doll house for your birthday and this year you are bisexual and want to get married? That's a pretty huge gap between those two subjects. How about you get your learners license first, then your drivers and we'll go from there.
The internet is partly to blame for this but you can't blame information, because that's all it is. It would be like blaming your chair for your broken leg. It's inanimate, not living, and cannot influence your decisions.
The blame for this should be on our teachers, and on ourselves, for not explaining that the internet is full of opinions, some people agree with them and some don't. Knowing the difference between fact and opinion is a huge step in knowing how to understand yourself. Cancer is a fact, treating it with bees wax and windex is not.
I think children should be children for as long as they possibly can be. The human race is at a point where people are starting to live to 100 years old. 20 years is a minuscule amount of time for you to be a kid, you'll have 80 more years to figure out everything life has to offer. Take your time, enjoy the simple things, adulthood comes before you even know it.
Young Decisions
Scott Goerz
