DR. WALLACE: I read with interest in your column regarding a survey of thousands of teens throughout the United States who selected teachers as the most trusted adults. The survey was conducted by a magazine. The least trusted adults were used car salespeople.

This information gave my parents a big laugh because my dad is a high school football coach and history teacher and my mom works for her brother selling used cars. My mom is the most trustworthy and honest person I know, while my dad might be considered a bit shady for his "win at any cost" coaching philosophy.

It just goes to show you that you can't always trust the surveys. — Nameless, San Diego, Calif.

NAMELESS: The survey asked teens to rank the following adults in terms of trust: clergy, police officers, business people, teachers, used car salespeople, entertainers and politicians. Over 10,000 teens nationwide participated.

Teachers were the most trusted group, followed by police officers, clergy, business people, entertainers, politicians and used car salespeople.

This is, of course, a general picture, and individuals within each of these professions are capable of shattering the stereotype, for better, or for worse.

GROUP DATING IN CANADA

TEENS: The days of girls nervously sitting by the telephone on a Saturday waiting for someone to call and ask them out on a date are history, at least in Canada. Today, young people are far more likely to go out in a group.

"People don't date anymore," said 17-year-old Burgundy Dunn of Milton, Ontario, who is quoted in an article in Toronto's The Canadian Press. Her friend Erin, also 17, added that television programs misled her into believing dates would be the norm when she got to high school, but it just isn't so. "Dates are nearly unheard of," she explained as she slurped down a pink lemonade at the mall.

The reason that dating has become ancient history is that, once you start going out with someone these days, it's a done deal. You can't see anyone else until there's a final breakup. No longer do teens date different people searching for their "one and only." Now one date puts a person in that category, at least for a while. Ottawa therapist and radio host Sue McGarvey says that it's common for teenagers to be in a series of yearlong relationships, one after another.

This trend has led to group activities as an alternative to pairing off. Some teens now only go out as a part of a group. That way no one is ever isolated or left out. Group activity also discourages sexual encounters.

As for the way teenagers' romantic lives are portrayed in films and the media, Erin says it's completely wrong. "They are portraying teens as sex-crazed punks, but they are wrong. We are getting a much higher code of behavior and we like it, and so does everyone else.

SEXUAL HARASSMENT

DR. WALLACE: I know this is a stupid question, but I would like a reasonable definition of sexual harassment. — Nameless, Galesburg, Ill.

NAMELESS: There are no stupid questions, only sometimes, stupid answers.

Sexual harassment is the result of one person using his or her power to take advantage of another. It includes unasked for and unwelcome sexual attention, remarks, noises, stares and touches. Sexual harassment can be either physical or verbal, and in some cases, silent, such as a suggestive facial expression or an eyeing of the victim's body.

If sexual harassment is directed your way, talk to someone who can do something to eliminate the unwanted attention, immediately!

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. E-mail him at [email protected]. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.