A guy at 17 if they long to have a gf generally is because they
sees people on the street and they feel this wanting. For some, its
the physical thing that they want (see people kiss, hug,etc they
also want), for others, they want the love and care from other
person (someone to depend on, they also want), in any case, they
start to ponder whether is it normal to be single now, another
major fault from media and stuff - those taiwanese ou xiang ju,etc.
Look at this all influence.
Its pretty alright to seek love like you said above, but as about
WORRYING over whether life has become a burden, no colour in life
liao, etc without a gf AT 17, thats a big difference. Come on, I
understand your feeling if you are already 25 and 99% of all your
friends are attached or when you started to reach 30, half of your
friends are already married. You will panic, its a normal and
natural reaction. But 17? 
Being desperate has nothing to do with family problems. Its just
one way to escape from the reality of problem families. Logically,
if you have family problem, the first you will find is people you
can trust, not seeking someone as a gf to love. From the people you
trust, you will gain some form of love, attention and dependacy.
Yes, not everyone are born into this world having people around
them to care, but I believe tian wu jue ren zi lu, somebody is
bound to be around. If there is nobody in your case, then I shall
start being the first one. 
This world is quite shit, but to able to retain original principles
of life and love is relatively difficult. Seeing people breaking
up, sad news on tv, etc, should serve to build you up, learn from
them, rather than letting it break you down. Like fire, both a
servant and a master - learn to work with it and even though it
could be difficult, but eventually, you will never succumb to the
totally destruction of your self-esteem and confidence.
Cheers
