Definition of Dating. What are the different types of dating?

The definitions of dating vary slightly from one society to another. But, in general, dating is a process where two people meet each other and try to know about each other's life, character, daily routine, feelings, etc. Conventionally, for many years, the majority of the world population has believed two people date each other only to find if they can make any romantic relationship or not. In short, they try to determine whether they are compatible enough to start a relationship or not. 

It is true that nowadays in modern societies, many people of younger generations think some types of dating can be initiated without expecting anything romantic. In this article, I will discuss different types of dating in detail. 

Monogamous dating or exclusive dating 

It is the most conventional dating technique, where two people date each other, agreeing that neither of them will date any other person while they're dating. In this type of dating, the two people aren't fully committed; neither of them calls themselves boyfriend or girlfriend. Each of them focuses on the other one, and with seriousness, they try to know each other more to check whether they're compatible for a long-term romantic relationship or not. In short, without any commitment and emotional attachment, two people decide to date each other, excluding any other person. 

Dating casually or Casual Dating 

When two people date each other without thinking seriously about commitment for any relationship, it is known as casual dating. In this type of dating, people don't get emotionally involved with each other, and they don't expect exclusivity. Hence, while involved in casual dating, sometimes a few people date more than one person simultaneously. As no one expects loyalty in this dating, each one of them has the moral right to date multiple people at the same time.  

Dating for Open Relationships 

It is a type of casual dating where a partner not only can date multiple people simultaneously but also can get physically intimate with them.

Dating after commitment 

This type of dating involves two people who are already in a committed relationship. That means two people decide to date each other even after their relationship starts. It is a known fact that two people date to know about each other before starting a relationship. In this phase of life, they feel a thrill to know each other for the first time. After the relationship starts, sometimes a couple may think to feel that thrill again, and that's why they start to date each other again. This dating is known as dating after commitment. Even many married couples arrange this type of dating for each other. 

What is Blind Dating 

When two people date without knowing anything about each other, it is known as blind dating. This type of dating may happen under various circumstances. Some of these are listed below:

• Friends or families of either of the two partners may arrange dating for them. 

• Two people may interact through a dating app/site and may arrange dating without knowing anything about each other except for names and a short intro via chatting. 

Online or Digital Dating 

When two people meet on online or digital platforms and use those platforms to communicate frequently and deeply with each other, then it is known as online or digital dating. 

To know each other more, online platforms provide various facilities and features. I have listed some of them below. 

• A lot of dating apps, dating portals, and social media platforms act as communication channels for different people. In the majority of them, people can open their own profiles free of cost and can add their own pictures, videos, text bios, etc. However, paid users are offered more features. 

• Almost all dating apps, websites, and portals offer the feature of searching for ideal matches based on age, sex, interests, likes, and dislikes, which are inputted by the users in their own profiles. 

• Along with text-based chat systems, the majority of these platforms offer several other communication systems like video calls, voice calls, sending recorded audio files, etc. 

• As these platforms run through the internet, people get the opportunities to interact with the individuals residing anywhere in the world. 

Some pros of online dating are as follows: 

• Online platforms run on the internet, and thus anyone can access the details of a huge number of people using them. 

• You can filter out various people and choose only such people for dating who seem compatible with you. 

• As you communicate with other unknown people online, it is a safer option than meeting the unknown people in person. 

• Not all people are extroverts. There are many other people who are introverts and shy. They don't feel hesitant and shy while communicating with other people online, as they don't need to meet them in person. 

Some cons of online dating are as follows: 

• Many people create fake profiles on various dating apps, websites, and social media platforms. These profiles are termed as fake because the creators of these profiles input fake names, fake profile pictures, and fake bios in these profiles. If you are a user with a profile of your original details and try to interact with one or more of these fake profiles, you will be fed with wrong information about them. Also, as the users of these fake profiles hide their original identities, they can scam you financially and emotionally. 

• There are many photo editing tools and software available, and also many dating apps and social media platforms themselves provide free tools to edit the pictures that you want to use for your profile pictures or simple posts. That means any user can filter or edit his/her own image so heavily that the output image won't resemble the original image of that user. So, if you edit your profile image heavily to make yourself look better on dating apps or social media, and after interacting with someone, if you date him/her physically, your dating partner may feel cheated if he/she finds out your original look doesn't match with your images used on the app or social media where he/she has interacted with you. 

• Swipe culture fails online dating initiatives. Swipe culture is a culture where users of dating apps quickly show interest in some individuals and quickly discard some other people. They just rely on profile pictures, bios, and quick chats to decide if anyone is good to be dated or not. This attitude may make many users look for presenting themselves for quick validation rather than showing patience to communicate deeply to identify the most compatible dating partner. They start to look for easy attention and completely ignore the task of creating a solid and deep connection. 

Know about Long-Distance Dating 

As the name "long-distance dating" suggests, it is a type of dating where two people stay very far from each other and date using internet-enabled devices. So, in short, it is a type of online or digital dating mentioned above. 

What is Speed Dating? 

If a social event is arranged where participants can meet new people and choose their dates, the dating initiated by them is known as speed dating. These events are usually organized in cafes, bars, large wedding halls, etc., of developed societies. You can't find such events in backward, conservative, and religious societies of the Indian subcontinent, Middle East nations, or almost all nations of Africa (except for South Africa). 

   In the event location, tables are arranged for couples so that two people can sit across from each other at each table while interacting with each other. Some organizers even sell coffee, snacks, and fast foods to such people. 

Now, there are things like FWB, or Friend With Benefit, and Situationship, but they are just some types of arrangements or temporary relationships, not dating.