I remember when I turned 16 years old I was so excited because it meant that I could actually date. Well, my daughter turned 16 in November and still doesn't really show interest in dating. I guess I shouldn't look too deep into it but it makes me wonder if smartphone, Snapchat, or other forms of communication has affected the way teenagers approach dating.

It used to be that teenagers would tie up the phone every night talking with their friends about boys they were interested in, or even talking to the boy that they may like. Teenagers in my day, actually went out on dates, before anyone became a couple. Nowadays teenagers facetime or Snapchat their crush and it almost seems that this is the way they date.

Good example, my daughter had been on facetime with a boy for quite awhile and the two of them liked each other and decided to become a couple. She was invited to his house for a Christmas party, and on the way there she became very nervous and decided she didn't want to go, I explained to her that she made a commitment and she needed to follow through with it. I dropped her off at the party and told her to text me if she needed anything.

I was home for about an hour when she texted me and said she wanted me to come pick her up because she was bored. Her dad went and picked her up, by the time she got home she was very upset. I asked her what was wrong and she explained, that it was very uncomfortable and he hardly talked to her. I explained to her that its hard to begin dating when you haven't even hung out together.

Something else that concerns me as a parent of a dating teen, teenage dating apps. Instead of flirting with guys they go to school with, ones they work with, or even ones their friends introduce them too, there are dating apps for teens. This is not just Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter, where kids can do online flirting, these are actual dating sites with profiles.

There is Tinder that takes your Facebook information and finds other kids that may have the same interest. OkCupid is an app that the user can create an actual profile, though the user can not search by a name they are again matched with possible candidates. Grindr targets gays and bisexual men using their cell phone location service to see other Grindr's in the area, share pictures and chat.

Skout is another location-based app that allows users to use a "Meet Me" feature that allows them to see who is in the area and to send "winks", chat, and know when other users come online. LuLu is an app that allows female users to rate and review men they have dated. Tingle again allows the users to find others in the area, to flirt via text and talking on the phone without exchanging information.

I am not criticizing the usage of these apps but as a parent of a dating teen I definitely need to be aware of these apps and also make sure there is an open dialogue with my daughter about her safety and the information that she puts out there.