OP, you need to keep in mind that everyone's situation is different when it comes to balding. Some guys shave it off when it gets too bad and they barely notice; maybe they've settled down with a girl who doesn't mind, maybe they're in a setting where it's common and people accept it. Some guys are just too dense to pick up on the changes going on around them.
You, however, seem to have a very bad set of cards psychologically to deal with balding. First, you are very sensitive and will have an acute awareness of the negative reactions to your balding (which are absolutely, 100% real. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise). Moreover, you seem to lack the force of personality that would let you power through the kind of rejection you'd face as a young bald guy going on the dating market in 2017. In general, as a young bald guy you lose a lot of the tail-wind that others your age get, and to compete with other guys for women and jobs you will have to rely more on persistence and sheer willpower, the precise things you yourself admit that you do not have.
Given this set of facts, I think it should be obvious to you that fuzzing over the infinitessimally small chance of getting permanent side effects from Finasteride (which are the exclusive domain of internet anecdotes and have never been demonstrated in any scientific studies) is a foolish pastime. The side-effects of going bald have an almost certain likelihood of materializing, and will hit you like a freight train in an important formative period of your life. Many of the most vocal and depressed posters here are those that were in your position; they could have started finasteride early but were afraid of sides, and once bald they realized they were permanently SOL. Choose wisely, is all I can say.