As a sideliner who gets to kick back with popcorn and a box of Kleenex and watch everyone else make dating mistakes...
- Ladies, be careful of men significantly older than yourselves... Dey is snee-kay.
- Wymens shouldn't date until they're in their mid 20's.
- Menfolks shouldn't date until they're in their late 20's/early 30's.
(I has science on this one. Observable data. And the human brain isn't ripe until mid 20's, mid 30's. Not that I'm utterly against dating before then... otherwise I wouldn't have stupidity to entertain me.)
- Always ask your would-be date if they're ever voluntarily listened to Justin Bieber. There is a possibility that they have permanent brain damage that could be passed down to your children.
- Observe how the potential bf/gf treats family members of the opposite gender (their opposite, not your opposite). That's you in 3 years.
- Always ask your family's take on an individual... unless your family is a bunch of idiots looking to get you married off. In which case, get a second, more qualified opinion. (Seriously. I had a friend who got married when she was 18, and her mom was all gung-ho about the whole thing, even when it went against common sense. Girl hadn't gone to college, had a baby right off the bat... which was exactly what she DIDN'T want to happen. I had a sense of foreboding about the whole shindig from the get-go.)