KATV Channel 7 - The Spirit of Arkansas: Group Dating

The old image of a teenage boy going to the door to pick up his date isn't one that is happening very much these days.  Instead, teenagers are "hanging out" in groups.  More than a quarter of high school seniors say they don't date.  Instead, according to the University of Michigan's "Monitoring the Future" report, teens are going to the movies and out to dinner in large groups.  Many kids report that they feel safer in the large groups.  They find group dating more emotionally secure.  Some psychologists say that when there are more kids, there is more peer pressure.  Those doctors say that kids in groups get into just as much trouble as kids in a coupling situation.  A large group of kids can mean that there is more casual, sexual activity and more drug and alcohol abuse.  Experts advise parents to send their teens out on a group date with the same advice you would send them if they were going out on an individual date.  Parents should still have the same rules regarding curfews and calls to check-in.  It is also a good idea to give your teenager a few code words that they can use if they need to call their parents if they're in a bad or uncomfortable situation.