I have always disliked the word "dating" as it applies to relationships, due to the ambiguity of that term. It is hard enough to define the specifics of something as intangible as a romantic relationship, without having words with multiple accepted meanings. Going on a "date" with someone doesn't mean that you are "dating" them, and even if you are, that can entail totally different things, depending on who you ask. Other terms like "going steady" or "being exclusive" have obvious connotations that are widely accepted.
People also make a big deal about whether an event is a "date" or not. In high school, people go to a dance "as friends" or "as a date." From a certain perspective, any planned event to get together is a date, but people have added a lot of baggage to the term.
Then there is the distinction between dating and courting, which usually casts dating in a negative light. But other people's definition of dating easily encompasses both variations. Regardless of that, I am a fan of that distinction for two reasons. For one, it adds some level of definition to the vagueness of what dating is, and because I like the deliberateness behind courting. While I am not a fan of many of the rules commonly associated with courting, I like the idea of pursuing a relationship specifically for the purpose of exploring the possibility of marriage.
On the other hand, that potentially negative perspective on certain types of dating causes certain people to fear being in any way associated with the process. Someone with a high degree of anxiety about dating is probably going to have trouble even being friends with a member of the opposite gender. I know I was that way in high school, and to a degree in college as well. Having no experience in that area, I didn't know where the lines were drawn. I was very interested in being friends with girls, but didn't want them to get the wrong idea, which usually led to me being very passive in that process.
Under a broad definition, I guess I have gone on "dates" with at least seven different girls over the last ten years. Must most of them would (accurately) claim that we were "just friends." Only two of those people were girls I was "dating," or more specifically: "in a relationship with." (That widely accepted phrase brought to you by Facebook) Neither of those relationships involved anything close to courting. And while I like the idea behind courting, I appreciate what I was able to learn about girls and romantic relationships from the two girls I have "dated."
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