The high school relationship is usually one to scoff—or cringe—at unless it leads to long-term partnership. But one Gen Z college-goer is making a case for the alternative.
Bryce Mandala (@brycemandala), a 21-year-old sports management student at the University of Georgia, has gone viral on TikTok for his candid reflections on the value of dating—and failing—in high school.
In a video posted on February 13, Mandala expressed regret over not dating during his teenage years, saying that he never realized the importance of teen romance in shaping his personal growth and relational skills.
“Having a relationship at that age—15, 16, 17 years old—teaches you so many valuable life lessons,” he said in the video. Mandala told Newsweek that a steadfast focus on “self-improvement” led him to overlook the value of navigating things like attraction, compatibility and care: a perspective he now regards as shortsighted.
Bryce Mandala in his viral TikTok video. Mandala expressed regret over not dating during his teenage years, saying that he never realized the importance of teen romance.
@brycemandala/TikTok
“Since my freshman year of high school, I’ve been extremely close-minded to the concept of committing to a relationship. I definitely didn’t see the bigger picture of dating at that age and thought that people who committed themselves to one individual were wasting their time, since the likelihood of that relationship lasting beyond high school is extremely low,” Mandala told Newsweek.
Now, as a junior in college, Mandala’s perspective has widened not just with age, but with mistakes he made in a recent relationship.
He shared an instance from late 2023 when he found himself ill-equipped to navigate a budding relationship, ultimately leading to its breakdown.
“The first time I decided to pursue a girl I was invested in, I made a lot of mistakes that I wish I had learned at an earlier age … I had been seeing a girl consistently for a few months that I wanted to pursue a relationship with, but it didn’t work out due to my inexperience with dating,” Mandala said. “I realized shortly after that I wasn’t valuing her time and didn’t reciprocate the effort she was putting into me.”
He said that on her 21st birthday, he didn’t make any effort to see her although she lived just 10 minutes away.
“I didn’t think to send her flowers, a card, or anything, and I’m not sure why it never crossed my mind,” he said. “Sometimes my energy towards her reflected that I didn’t care, but it was because I didn’t know how to express myself in a relationship setting and display that I was invested.”
Mandala said he wished he could’ve done things differently in that relationship, and that high school dating experience may have helped him.
“The biggest advantage of getting those experiences as a high schooler is learning how to be compatible with someone else and how to be considerate of someone else’s feelings and thoughts,” he said. Mandala did emphasize the importance of friendship for relational learning, but said that ultimately, the dynamics of a romantic relationship offer a unique context for personal growth.
His TikTok video has sparked a broader conversation among viewers, resonating with many who share similar regrets—and even those still in high school.
“Dating and making an effort to pursue a significant other is a vital component of human evolution and growth,” he said. “There were a lot of things I wish I could’ve done differently.”
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Source : Newsweek