Team Will vs Team Jem: How old are you?

I'm curious to know the average ages of the Team Will and Team Jem supporters. Do you think age and experience play a role in the way we perceive these two boys?

WARNING: Major Spoilers for Cassandra Clare’s Clockwork Angel

My Opinion:

To be honest, I don't like Will all that much. He's good-looking and witty, to be sure, but he's a jerk! Any guy who implies that the girl he likes is no better than a whore DOES NOT DESERVE HER. I don't care how tortured his past is--I don't care if he secretly *wuvs* her--that kind of behavior is unacceptable.

His cruelty and callousness toward the other Shadowhunters, Henry especially, is totally uncalled for. Yes, Jessamine is rude and insensitive too, and her general disdain for all things supernatural, including her own species, might not endear her to Will. But that's no excuse for the way he treats her or others--you don't see Jem or Henry or Charlotte quarreling with her. Not even Will's solitary affection for Jem discounts his belittling remarks about Henry, who is just as good and kind as Jem (I think he is partial to Jem because they share a demon past). And the way he looks and talks to Sophie makes me acutely uncomfortable with his character.

On the surface, I understand the appeal of the Bad Boy--he's dangerous, sexy, whatever. But the whole idea of wanting to reform the Bad Boy never appealed to me. It seems like an awful lot of work when there are so many perfectly nice, well-adjusted young men around. What's wrong with a good guy--seriously, no reformation work necessary on your part.

Now this is only speculation, but I'm guessing that those who are Team Will are on average younger than those who are Team Jem. I imagine that a young girl (14-18), relatively inexperienced with boys, would be more likely to put up with a guy who treats her badly. Note: I'm not saying that she will, I'm saying that she's more likely to than someone, say, five years older.

One of the reasons I like Tessa is because she doesn't put up with Will's asshattery. That doesn't stop her from liking him or being attracted to him, but it certainly doesn't fill her with love and affection. It’s true that we can’t always control who we’re attracted to, but we can control what we do with that attraction. Either we choose to act on it, or we don’t.

Now an older girl, on the other hand, one with more experience in dating, would probably not put up with someone like Will. Unless she's got, like, really low self-esteem. Jem would be the preferred choice: his kindness, maturity and inner strength are all part of his appeal. A guy who trusts you with the darkest, most disturbing secret of his past instead of pushing you away? Now that’s sexy!

If Will continues to treat Tessa like some worthless downworlder, then he’s going to lose his chance with her. Sexy smoldering blue eyes be damned!