There are four major reasons as to why people get involved
in the dating game. In this context, we are talking about dating in the
traditional sense of the word. That is where people (lovebirds) hold long
sentimental chats, go to various fun-filled events together, spend immense
amounts of time together… and pretty much court one another for romantic
purposes. This is as opposed to the emerging concept of dating: where things
move so fast that one has difficulty differentiating romantic partners and
commercially
The traditional concept of dating is naturally one that
requires a lot of time, energy and resources. The first challenge in this
dating game is usually that of identifying suitable people to date. Having
identified a suitable person, there is still the challenge of initiating the
relationship and keeping it going – in order to, hopefully, eventually get
whatever one is expecting from the relationship. The question is subsequently bound
to come up, as to why people show willingness to spend so much time, energy and
resources on the dating game. That is where we come to learn,
1. To find suitable life partners: in many traditional societies, one could get a life partner through an arranged marriage. But anyone looking for a life partner today (a wife or a husband to spend the rest of his or her life with) has no alternative besides getting into the dating game. Normally, the arrangement is one where a person dates several people, before eventually settling down with one, setting stage for engagement and eventual marriage. Now as we all know, finding a suitable life partner is a major and truly worthwhile life achievement. Thus, if dating is what it takes to get one such life partner, then the time, energy and resources spent in the process are deemed to have been well-spent.
2. To have fun: there are people who get into the dating game not really with the objective of getting life partners, but rather, with the objective of simply having fun. Indeed, we have cases where people who are already married start dating others (which is almost always a controversial arrangement, especially in societies which advocate monogamy). But when all is said and done, extroverts find fun in spending time with others, and one way in which they get access to ‘others’ with whom they can spend time is by participating in the dating game.
3. To keep up with peers: there are people who don’t find the dating game to be particularly exciting, and who are not keen on getting life partners either, but who still participate in the dating game to keep up with their peers. This situation is common in high schools and colleges, where people do so many things just to keep up with peers.
4. To meet societal expectations: it would seem that society expects people in certain age groups to be dating. This is where, for instance, a youthful person in his or her teens or twenties is expected to be dating. The society communicates these expectations in numerous subtle ways. People take cue, and start dating to meet the societal expectations: even if, at a personal level, they don’t find dating to be fun, and they aren’t in search of life partners either.