Teen Advice: How to Tell If You Are Boy Crazy

Teenage girls spend this whole phase and stage driven and sometimes tormented by their wacky hormones. Being interested in boys is part of the territory, and it allows the teenager to experiment with different tastes and ideals that they are beginning to formulate and pattern with regards to their personal dating habits. There use to be a time where little girls grew up into teens and young adults that patterned their idealistic boyfriend and relationships after the first guy they idolized and the first real relationship they saw---their father's and their parents. Unfortunately with so many one parent homes and dysfunctional homes, young girls turn to their peers for references and celebrities as their ideal model for a boyfriend. This can often lead to a teen girl becoming "boy crazy".

It is entirely normal for a teenaged girl to like a variety of different boys, because they are learning to identify characteristics and personality traits that they enjoy incorporating into their relationships. But if a teenaged girl is "boy crazy", this can lead them down a road of heartache and missed opportunity, as well as harm their self-esteem. "Boy crazy" could be a symptom of a bigger problem like the need for attention they may not be getting at home from their father. It also reflects the fact that she has not developed her own identity, and lives through the identity of all the many boys she is crazy about. If a teenaged girl spends all her time and energy trying to discover everything there is to know about whom these guys are, she may never develop who she is, other abilities and talents, or other interests. The real downside to being "boy crazy" is that you spend so much time being preoccupied by boys that you fail to develop who you are and can be, and in the long-run, you lose sight of how important you are because boys have become too important in your life.

Some teen girls are "boy crazy" because they think it will give them certain things that they believe they are incapable of bringing to themselves. For instance, it is common for a teen girl to be "boy crazy" when she feels it will bring her power and protection, meaning she will have that male presence in her life to protect her at all times. She might be "boy crazy" because it will help her climb the teenage ladder of status, making her popular or making other peers admire her more. It is also common for a girl to be "boy crazy" if she feels it will give her freedom and independence. Maybe the boys she is interested in are older and drive cars, and she will have a person to take her places, which often gives her a means to get out of her house.

So, how can you tell if you're "boy crazy"? You should ask yourself the following questions:

Do you spend all your time and energy developing new ways to get a guy to be interested in you?

Do you think by dressing more provocative and sexy you will be a prime catch for every boy?

Do you date every boy that shows an interest in you regardless of liking anything about them or having anything important in common?

Is it common for you to break-up with one boy and start dating another within the same week or month even?

Do you only look at appearance when you are interested in a boy?

Is having a boyfriend the only way you feel happy and secure?

Do you feel like your life depends on you having a boyfriend in your life at all times?

Are boys all you ever think about?

Is every conversation you have about boys?

Does every activity you take part in have to involve boys?

Have you dated boys that have dated your girl friends?

When you have a boyfriend, do you flirt or even cheat on them with other boys?

Are you willing to compromise yourself sexually with every guy you date because they want to?

Do you think having a boyfriend at all times will make you popular and define who you are?

We hear the term "boy crazy" all the time today, and most often it is attached with a thinking that "Oh, it is completely normal". Unfortunately, it is not completely normal to be "boy crazy", but rather, it can be a sign of a teenaged girl's damaged self-esteem. She may be masking bigger deeper problems by numbing them with the constant parade of boys in her life. By doing so, she does not realize she is hindering the normal growth and development of her own independence, while other qualities and interests never have the chance to form. It can lead her to an adult life of missed opportunities and poor quality relationships. Being "boy crazy" is not a normal phase.