Hey man, lemme tell you something.
Do whatever you need to do to make yourself happy. You're young with a lot of spare time and don't really have a whole lot of priorities right now. When you move out, start college, get a job, and start paying bills, dating isn't even an idea that you can afford to waste time and money on. You'll learn that girls can be heartless and cruel, but you work around them to find some decent ones. It's fun to date people for a couple years but it's not nice to play with someone's emotions just so you can have something to do when you're done school. You're also wayyy too young to commit to a full relationship when you should be out seeing all kinds of people that a girlfriend would normally get jealous over for no reason. AND YOU WILL want to chill with other people who your gf won't like.
When I was 16, all I cared about was video games and getting money for more video games. Really, I didn't need a girlfriend to MAKE me feel good but I figured I needed a prom date anyway so I tried my luck at scoring chicks. Yet, a girl (who was also my older brother's friend's sister) asked me out while I was in high school and we we're inseparable all the way through university.
I was never happier in my entire life to spend so much time with someone. We dated for 4 years (and practiced safe sex most of the time xD) and then one day she decided she didn't want me anymore and wanted my best friend, almost out of the blue. So that was it. I was left emotionally scarred and alone with a rather sinister desire to murder her and my former besty. Needless to say, I lost all my trust in women, friends, and family (who made things worse) so I'm still recovering from that whole mess and taking it easy. It's been a year so far.
Now I'm 21 and looking back on all this, I'm just hoping it doesn't happen to you. It really changed who I am as a person to learn from an experience like that knowing how much you risk losing in a relationship that isn't for you or one that you don't need.
But in your case, you sound like any other 16 year old kid who's going though some rough times. Give dating a shot if you're really up to it but it's really something you should take seriously (it WILL change your future as to who you become). Socializing is easy. Be upfront, confident, nice, witty, charming, and most importantly, be dominant. Girls need a dominant man to want to hold and love and look to for being there for them as much as you want them to be with you. What I mean is to take control of situations when she's unsure and help her make decisions because girls have NO IDEA what they want. You'll learn about this later on as you begin dating.
Dating people is a lot like finding a new job. Don't ever settle for less, first impressions are everything, and maintain composure. ALWAYS maintain composure and talk about things before your emotions make the decision for you...because it will never be the right one.
tl;dr: Experiment and be safe. Don't rush into anything you're not ready for or unsure of. You don't need to worry about IF you'll get a girlfriend but WHEN. You're insanely young dude. Might not seem that way, but you are. Don't let her take all of your money/friends/time/and emotions just to up and leave one day. You need to be sure of things like this.