Date or Stay Single?

"I wanted to ask if you could do a blog about whether dating at a young age is okay, and whether you should give in to peer pressure about dating."
-Pressured & Wondering

I received this message from someone recently. I hope I can answer as well as I can and that it may be helpful for you girlie! Thanks a ton for asking for me to help you with this. (By the way, any questions or anything you need advice for, don't hestitate to comment or message me anonymously anytime, [or with your name, I will always keep your name private no matter how you contact me]).
First of all, by asking if dating "at a young age" is okay, designate what the young age is exactly. Personally, I think someone who is at least a teenager of perhaps sixteen or older could be fine dating (it all depends on your situation, maturity level, and so on) but something going on like an eleven-year old beginning to date is not okay. (I don't think you need to be dating when you're that young period :P.)
A question that pops into probably all girls' (and guys') heads at some point or another is, should you give in to peer pressure about dating? That is something that has a complicated answer, because you may have a desire in your heart to date someone, and adding peer pressure to that just makes the pressure to do so worse.
I'm struggling with this question right now myself, to be totally honest, and definitely know the feels!! Consider all of the following and ask yourself these questions first before you make a decision to date at this point in your life or hold off for a bit:
~Are you emotionally ready for a relationship at the moment? Sometimes people may still be hurting, and have not fully healed from a former relationship, while jumping into a new one too fast before their heart has had time to catch up and heal entirely. Make sure you're over all previous relationships substantially before entering a new one.
~Do you really want a relationship right now? Sometimes the peer pressure itself can deceive your feelings and make you feel like you really want to date someone yourself, but its all the people around you who are feeding you that idea instead of you desiring it yourself. (Not to say all people who start dating had previously been actually looking out for a particular special someone; sometimes "the one" shows up when you least expect it. Just clarifying that that is not what I am saying here ;))
~Can you handle a relationship at the moment? Sometimes, there may be so much more going on in school, extra-curriculars, with friends & family, and emotionally all round that just adding a relationship to the list in your life could become too much. Consider your problems, situation, and responsibilities right now. Would it be too much with a boyfriend in there as well? Could it be better to wait on dating until it'd be a better time, and just have friendships with guys in the mean time?

I hope this post was helpful for everyone wondering about dating, peer pressure, and all that hard stuff that comes to mind and heart as all you peeps progress through the teen years. Feel free to contact me in any way you'd like to ask questions, I'd love to answer any and all of them for any one of you in my blog, or through private messaging!
Be sure to comment below as well with your thoughts. God bless, girlies! <3
~Veroni