In today’s high school environment, relationships aren’t always as simple as being “single” or “dating”, many students find themselves in what’s most commonly known as the “talking stage” or a “situationship” – a period of time that exists somewhere between a friendship and a relationship, and is often hard to see a difference between.

This stage is an exciting period for most people; this is the time where you get to know the person, and see if you guys are compatible together before making the commitment to that one person before taking that step to the next level.

Many students believe that the talking stage is used to truly find out what they want or don’t want in a person. Rather than rushing into a relationship without understanding what the other person’s wants and needs are.

Sophomore Destiny Cacopardo explains her view of what the talking stage  means to her.

“The talking stage is just liking the person and being able to get to know them well while still exploring other people. Going from talking to a relationship shouldn’t feel weird if you feel a connection, but dating is a label in a relationship that shouldn’t change anything if you guys already have a connection,” said Cacopardo.

Freshman Jaeden Ortiz explains his view on talking stages. “The talking stage is mostly just talking, not really actually hanging out yet, but getting to know each other and understanding each other’s interests. But dating is more of you guys moving to the next step, being comfortable with each other, being able to hang out and be able to do stuff together because you have the base of your relationship from the talking stage,” said Ortiz.

However, not all students feel that the talking stage is helpful. Some believe it can actually

create confusion for both people involved. Without clear expectations students might not know whether or not the other person is serious about them or simply talking to you for fun. The uncertainty can sometimes lead to people getting mixed signals.

Junior Pedro Reis shared his perspective on how he believes that the talking stage is unnecessary. “No, the talking stage isn’t needed because when you’re dating someone you’re really already talking to them. And the point of dating is to be with the person and understand them, so basically the talking stage is unnecessary,” said Reis.

On the other hand some students strongly believe in the talking stage because it can help build up your relationship, so when the time comes you are able to feel comfortable and strong going into a relationship.

Senior Reagan Bushnell supports the need for the talking stage. “The talking stage is necessary because you should be taking the time to get to know a person before you start dating them. The talking stage is the time where you’re supposed to explore and learn about the person and to see it out before making that next step,” said Bushnell.

Although students may disagree whether the talking stage is necessary or unnecessary it’s clear that the line between talking stages and dating is still going to remain unclear because every student has a different perspective based on experiences and expectations. Relationships often help teens be able to learn valuable lessons about communication but most importantly it helps teens learn about themselves and what they want in their lives.