aproudbyg:
one who understands the workings of normal human social interaction fully, (who I cannot claim to be), will appreciate that when boys and girls who are below the age of intellectual maturity mix, disastrous results can follow. It is for this reason, among many others for which we don’t have time, that the Torah and Chazal made so many stringent safeguards to restrict mixing of the genders until they come of age – indeed, the Mishnah in Pirkei Avos says quite clearly that 18 is the age to get married.
as I am not a rav or mashgiach etc, I do not have a mandate to proffer my own opinions as to how far we must go to avoid unsolicited interactions, but it is absolutely imperative that we have full trust in our rabbanim (who, whether we like it or not, have a far greater understanding of what is necessary than ourselves) when they make takanos to ensure a continuity of proper kedushas Yisroel, which is the basis for the continuation of Yiddishkeit.
despite all this, the Torah gives us the mitzvah of getting married, and if someone withholds themselves from this, then they have been Mevatel a mitzvah. The mishnah says that the turning point here is 18 years old, and we must accept that as Daas Torah.
As for the problem of how are they going to suddenly be able to get on with and love each other – well, it’s worked for thousands of years so there’s no reason to presume it’ll stop working now.
IY”H you should be zoche, if you haven’t already, to find your bashert and live a productive life together.