Can You Be in Love With Somebody You Hardly Know?

The excitement you feel is normal in the beginning of a relationship, according to the article "Love and Romance" on the TeensHealth website. That said, a physical attraction to your potential partner doesn't equate to true love. It is easy to confuse the heart-pounding, cheek-flushing rush of electricity with falling in love. Keep in mind that attraction alone isn't enough. If all that you know about your girl is that she has the bluest eyes you've ever seen, chances are you aren't really in love.

Developing a sense of closeness is an essential part of true love. When you add closeness to that initial feeling of attraction, you can have a loving relationship. Building closeness includes sharing thoughts with one another and supporting each other through thick and thin. If you hardly know your partner, it is unlikely that you have the bond necessary for love.

Some feel it is impossible to care deeply for someone if you don't know them. This way of thinking revolves around the idea that without reliable knowledge of true traits -- such as humor or intelligence -- you don't yet have the ability to fall in love. That said, your initial instinct isn't always wrong. As your relationship progresses, you may find that your first feelings or immediate evaluation of the person's characteristics were right all along.

While the instant attraction that you may feel can give you loving feelings, translating that into a long-term romantic relationship depends on what happens next. The "love at first sight" feeling can grow into authentic long-term love, according to professor of philosophy Aaron Ben-Zeev in the article "Love at First Sight (and First Chat)" on the Psychology Today website. If your relationship builds off of the initial feelings, continuing to progress in intensity and depth, it can grow in a healthy way.