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“My Paper Boyfriend” teaches girls that dating is hard work

LatinaLista — Every girl, at one point or another, has fantasized about the “perfect boyfriend.” From his looks to his attitude, the perfect boyfriend, we soon find out, exists only in our imaginations — or in a new online game called “My Paper Boyfriend.”

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Created by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unwanted Pregnancy and The Dibble Institute, My Paper Boyfriend lets girls create the boy of their dreams. From choosing his skin tone and hairstyle to even picking out his clothes, this dream guy has it all.

Buuuut the purpose of the exercise is not for girls to think that a dream guy is actually the guy of their dreams. The game goes further than that by testing the girls to see if they have what it takes to build healthy relationships.

Several real-life scenarios are presented and the girls have to respond keeping Dream Guy in mind. The game progresses through a regular dating relationship dealing with issues involving friends, family, sexting and even Facebook.

Interestingly, the game doesn’t deal with Dream Guy pressuring for sex which would seem to be just as realistic as the variety of scenarios the game offers. However, since I didn’t play the game all the way through, maybe the creators dreamed their characters were practicing abstinence.

At any rate, it’s a good exercise for young girls who fantasize about Mr. Perfect to learn that it takes a lot of work to date someone — and it’s rarely a perfect relationship.

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