OK, guys, you know all about your sex drive. It's with you every minute of the day. And if you checked out the page on The Physical Facts, you know WHY that sex drive is so strong. However, just because you're genetically programmed to carry on the human race, it doesn't give you an excuse to go out and populate the world.

Most teenage guys are in lust, not love. There are exceptions to this, but here's a way to test out your feelings:

If you're totally focused on her looks and body and already fantasizing about what she looks like naked and what it would be like to have sex with her, that's lust.

If you pressure her by saying, "If you love me, you'll do it," that's lust.

If you don't really listen to her when she talks about her life, interests, friends, etc., and are only thinking about having sex with her, that's lust.

If you want to or have sex and then brag about it to your friends, that's lust.

If you don't want her involved in your life, except when you want sex, that's lust.

For guys, lust is a very heady experience. The brain goes on vacation, and the red hot surges of testosterone run the show. Guys are perfectly capable of engaging in sex without forging any emotional bonds with a woman, and often do.

So, you're not responsible for all this... it's just those hormones, and they take over, so you can't help it! Wrong!!! You also have a brain, and it's your responsibility to keep it engaged... no matter how hard that is. Did you know that 50% of guys have never considered what their lives would be like if they got a girl pregnant? Well, you need to think about that.

If you want to be irresponsible and go out and get two or three girls pregnant, you can kiss your financial future goodbye. Ever hear of child support? Depending upon the state, you are financially responsible for your children until they reach 18 or 21! The average child support payment is $400 to $500 per month, depending upon your income. So, with anywhere from $400/$500 to $1,200/$1,500 per month going to child support, that college education, new car, house, etc., is going to be pretty hard to come by. And every hour 85 more teenage girls get pregnant!

Now here's another thing to think about. Some girls, especially the youngest ones, WANT to get pregnant because they want a baby; and they'll do anything to get one. She will tell you she's on the pill or other birth control, but you never really KNOW that's true. So it's very easy to be tricked into fatherhood, and it doesn't make any difference how it happened. You're still responsible for child support. And don't think you're going to get away with saying, "It's not mine." A simple DNA test will prove that. Finally, are you familiar with statutory rape? Statutory rape is sex with a person who has not reached the age of consent, even if both people participate willingly. All 50 states have very different laws concerning the age of consent. In most states it is 16 years old, but in some states it is 17 or 18. Consequently, having sex with a girl under the age of consent could get you charged with statutory rape by her angry parents, and really ruin your life.

Now all of this doesn't mean that guys can't fall in love, but it takes a lot of maturity to get to that point, and that usually doesn't happen in your teen years. Real love is the most ennobling of human emotions and makes the guy want to "be a better man" and to make a home and family with this person.

So if you think it might be real love, be sure to check out the differences in the "Love vs. Lust" page.