Recently, a group of students were handing out business cards in front of New Trier. If you were there that day, you were probably given one.  And, judging by the front hallway, you probably dropped it, perhaps before even reading it.

But  not me. Oh no. I not only read the card, I kept it. Because I wanted to know more about finding my DanceMatch.

And I’ve got to say, I’m not super happy with what I found. It’s a well made website, there’s no doubt about that, and the intentions behind it are good, but I can’t help but find the whole thing creepy.

But before I even start to get into that, I should probably explain the site, seeing as I don’t think most of you even know what I’m talking about.

DanceMatch is basically a high school dating website meant to help its users find a date for any upcoming dances. In this case, that dance is Homecoming.

The way DanceMatch works is that you choose fifteen people you want to go to homecoming with, and then, after everyone has made their list, you get a list of people from your list who also chose you. If none of the people you like choose you, your list ends up empty, and you have to go to the dreaded round 2. And if no one chooses you during round 2, well, you’re out of luck. This, of course, is a massive confidence boost–the perfect thing for kids using a dating website in high school.

The whole purpose of the website is to take the pressure off of getting a date for “da big dance”, but it just seems to make the pressure worse. Who says you need a date to go to Homecoming? If you want to go, just go. Ignore the judgment of others, just enjoy being yourself. DanceMatch implies you need a date, even if it’s someone you’ve never even met before.

Then, there’s the creepy way the site makes us view whatever gender we’re interested in “dating.” The whole process seems eerily similar to the college process. We’ve got our reach dates, the ones we think that we can probably go with, and our safety dates.

In many ways, DanceMatch is taking all the romance out of homecoming. It allows people to get dates just to have dates instead of going with someone they care about. And I thought that the whole point of dating was to find people that you actually care about, not to just be seen with someone else at a high school dance.

Once again, it’s a well made site. And I do think that it was made with good intentions. I just think that it plays into a mentality that makes teenagers feel like they need to have some romantic interest in their lives, even if it’s just for a night; otherwise, they’re missing the whole high school experience. It encourages the idea that finding a date defines us.

I’m not saying that love isn’t an important part of life. I just think it’s too early for it. We’re teenagers, literally the most awkward people on the planet. And some of us, myself included, are more awkward than others. Let us deal with the emotional and physical avalanche that is puberty before making us feel like our lives are incomplete without someone to dance with at Homecoming.

Basically, what I’m saying is add me to your list on thedancematch.com.