Dating is a social event practised extensively in Western cultures, especially amongst the educated upper classes, where two individuals meet socially without the objective of each comparing the other as a potential partner in a romantic relationship in the future. In this way, the term dates back to the ancient Greek and Roman societies. The modern day dating practice is not as refined and exclusive as it was in the past. However, with some social research and the rise in population size, it can be argued that the way we date now has become quite superficial as the focus has become more on attaining a mate and not finding the right person as a date.
Dating in recent years has experienced a new surge in popularity with the advent of online dating websites. This has further enabled people to find their ideal date and enjoy the benefits associated with online dating. The major benefit associated with online dating is that it allows for an expanded stage of dating giving you more options and enabling you to refine your interests as you continue to meet different people. Another benefit is that it provides for a much more comfortable approach allowing for you to develop genuine intimacy that would otherwise be very hard to do offline.
- Dating can be described in many ways but the most accurate way to describe it is to say that it is the conscious decision to date someone and the experience of becoming aware of that you want to date them.
- The stages of dating include the initial stage, when you may be interested in meeting a particular person, the attraction stage, during which you might find that you are compatible with this person and you feel drawn to them, and finally the dating stage, when you begin to communicate with this potential partner and begin to consider whether or not you want to go ahead and establish a relationship with them. In order to establish intimacy, you will need to feel comfortable with who you are dating as well as how they are viewing you.
- The first stage of dating is the most important, because at this stage it is important to get to know the other person and what their likes and dislikes are. It is during this stage that you will also be able to establish rapport which is vital if you are to build up a relationship that will last.
One of the biggest benefits of Dating online; is that it allows for a much wider scope of meeting other people aside from your potential relationship with this person. When you are out with your friends or going on a night out, you might find yourself bumping into a few interesting people. However, this is usually in the form of a passing acquaintance or a random stranger and this is not what you want from your relationship. You want to make sure that you are developing a relationship with this person, which means that you will need to expand your sphere of influence.
You also have the option of building on the relationship that you already have with this person by becoming more intimate with this person. This is done by learning more about them through online research so that you know them better. You can also decide to just ignore this person if they are not into you as some do not like to be rejected. This can be a hard stage to go through as rejection is something every relationship goes through. However, if you have put in the effort you will get over it and the next stage in the process is to decide if you want to be exclusive or not. After this you will have found out whether or not you are meant for this person and can move on.
The final stage in dating is what many people enjoy; and that is romance. Romance is defined as having intense feelings for another person who you are romantically involved with. However, this does not mean that all dating sites are purely for romantic relationships. If you find yourself being involved with a person for the sole purpose of having fun, you will also find this on a variety of dating sites.