Courting Vs. Dating?

[SiyoNqoba]

Wikipedia uses sources to back up its facts. I could link you to those instead.

Whatever class you took, that is just completely off. Kids would have multiple dates during the week. There would've been flirting, but sexual activity expected? Heck no, otherwise those kids would've been rabbits. And ask people who lived back then- they'll tell you that it wasn't rabbit sex hunting season.

And, even if that were true- it doesn't mean that today, so this really has no relevance anyway

Haha, you're right about one thing - it really doesn't matter

Any person can go and change Wikipedia. I've done it myself , and I've also found numerous examples of stuff being changed to be completely wrong (like that a common problem in New Zealand is sheep walking over the Auckland Harbour Bridge). It's not a good source, regardless of the fact that it provides sources. Yes, go to those sources, find what you're trying to prove, and source that. Though if it's something like Wikipedia, it's also probably just as untrustworthy.

If I'd not specified that I don't mean for kids, you'd be right. But dating didn't start out with kids doing it, it was older people in the beginning of a sexual freedom era.

Yes, in the 50s and 60s and 70s (and 80s and 90s, I saw someone mention), dating was common amoung high school students and, yes, was just flirting and harmless fun. But it's kind of like how older people were innapropriate clothes, and now little children do because it's fashionable. It didn't start out that way.

Maybe I'm just not explaining myself well.

To the person who asked what university, the University of Auckland, in New Zealand. It's one of the top universities in the country and has a very, very good history department. So, it doesn't prove me wrong, sorry (lol)

 

[The Nihilist]

EDIT: Thanks, sorry if I came across a bit impolite. It just rubbed me the wrong way, is all.

No, your tone was more civil than mine, as I happened to be drunk at the time. Our friendly staff has already suggested I find other ways to spend time under those conditions.

 

[DarkLegend28]

people use the term "dating" to mean casual dating and just going out and messing around for fun with no serious intention in it at all.

Courting just means you are serious with a longer term of finding yourself and what you want in a longterm relationship that may have permanency to it later. So basically dating with the goal of marriage rather than fun.

 

[KingCrimson250]

But again, that's not the necessary definition of dating and indeed, in some circles dating doesn't look like that at all. In any case, I would say that "courting," if you must use the term at all, ought to be a subset of dating, rather than an alternative to it. Again though, I'd rather the word just disappeared as it seems to have picked up some connotations of moral or spiritual superiority somewhere down the line.

 

[Ave Maria]

Essentially you are right, they're the same.

The only real difference is that the people courting claim to be looking for marriage, while dating covers a spectrum of reasons, depending on who is doing the dating.

So if courting means you're looking for marriage then that is what I am doing.

"Dating" technically means, you're going on dates with someone.

However, most people know that to mean that you're in a relationship with someone. You may or may not be looking towards marriage.

"Courting" technically means you're in a relationship with someone, and you're in it with the intent of seeing if you can get married.

However, it is often used to refer to a very conservative relationship, i.e. people who have no alone time before marriage like to call it "courting" instead of dating. Courting can involve everything dating does, including premarital sex if you like. What is does not ever involve, is being in a relationship purely for the sake of the relationship, but if people say they're "courting" instead of "dating", they are most likely using it to reference the fact their relationship is conservative. Not always though.

So, courting means you're in a relationship looking towards marriage basically? If so, then I am courting Jason.