Meeting socially intending a future relationship
Dating is a stage of romantic relationships in which two individuals regularly engage in activity together, most often with the intention of evaluating each other's suitability as a partner in a future intimate relationship. It falls into the category of courtship, consisting of social events carried out by the couple either alone or with others.
The first date is considered important, sometimes for making a good first impression, or because dating may lead to a more serious relationship, or a breakup, or friendzoning. If the relationship progresses, the next steps may include meeting the parents or other family and eventually cohabitation, engagement and marriage. Even after the relationship develops, couples still may organize a date or "date night".
With the internet, many dating sites have been created to modernize the personals section of newspapers as a way to find prospective partners. Speed dating, blind dating, and the use of matchmaking are all possible ways of beginning the dating process. Group dating is a modern dating practice especially popular in Japan.
Etymology.
The earliest usage of the noun "date" is in 1896 by George Ade, a columnist for the "Chicago Record". Date referred to "public" courtship, when a woman would meet a man publicly rather than privately at a residence or at court. In Ade's 1899 "Fabels in Slang", he used the term "Date Book" to describe a type of ledger system a cashier used to track dates with suitors until she married.
Different meanings of the term.
While the term "dating" has many meanings, the most common refers to a trial period in which two people explore whether to take the relationship further towards a more permanent relationship; in this sense, dating refers to the time when people are physically together in public as opposed to the earlier time period in which people are arranging the date, perhaps by corresponding by email or text or phone. 
Another meaning of the term "dating" is to describe a stage in a person's life when they are actively pursuing romantic relationships with different people. If two unmarried celebrities are seen in public together, they are often described as "dating" which means they were seen in public together, and it is not clear whether they are merely friends, exploring a more intimate relationship, or are romantically involved. A related sense of the term is when two people have been out in public only a few times but have not yet committed to a relationship; in this sense, "dating" describes an initial trial period and can be contrasted with "being in a committed relationship".
Wide variation in behavior patterns.
Social rules regarding dating vary considerably according to variables such as social class, race, religion, age, sexual orientation and gender. Behavior patterns and dating preferences are generally unwritten and constantly changing. There are considerable differences between social and personal values. 
Since dating can be stressful, there is the possibility of humor to try to reduce tensions. For example, director Blake Edwards wanted to date singing star Julie Andrews, and he joked in parties about her persona by saying that her "endlessly cheerful governess" image from movies such as "Mary Poppins" and "The Sound of Music" gave her the image of possibly having "lilacs for pubic hair"; Andrews appreciated his humor, sent him lilacs, dated him and later married him, and the couple stayed together for 41 years until his death in 2010.
Gendered norms and preferences.
Gendered heterosexual dating norms include men asking women on dates, men planning and paying for dates, men proposing exclusivity, men proposing marriage to women. Gendered heterosexual dating norms for women generally include either accepting or rejecting men's initiatives and avoiding overt initiative. 
Online dating patterns suggest that men are more likely to initiate online exchanges (over 75%) and extrapolate that men are less "choosy", seek younger women, and "cast a wide net". One common gendered dating preference is that heterosexual men prefer women's physical attractiveness more than reverse. In a similar vein, the stereotype for heterosexual women is that they seek well-educated men who are their age or older with high-paying jobs. Evolutionary psychology suggests that "women are the choosier of the genders" since "reproduction is a much larger investment for women" who have "more to lose by making bad choices." Women's endorsement of gendered dating norms tends to increase with benevolent sexism, preference for dominant men and long-term relationships. Some women perceive benevolent gendered dating norms benefit them, such as "women should be protected and taken care of by men". Some women endorse gendered dating norms due to their view that men's commitment is less assured than women's commitment, which can be seen as internalized sexism. 
While many gendered dating norms follow patriarchy or chivalry, the online dating app Bumble enforced until 2024 the gendered dating norm that heterosexual women send the first message after matching. 
In countries with reversal of the gender gap in education, such as parts of Europe and USA, a switch of educational hypergamy from men to women showing on average higher educational attainment was observed in heterosexual couples.
Gender egalitarian norms.
Gender egalitarian dating norms have no gendered differences in dating norms, in line with gender equality. Going dutch at dates refers to the equal split of the bill at dates. Some women reject gender equal norms, such as women approaching men, due to fear of rejection, to avoid being seen as desperate, viewing symbolic gendering as benevolent or viewing men following gender egalitarian dating norms as lack of men's interest. Some women report privately playing a decisive role in the timing of the marriage proposal, while publicly following gendered courtship conventions. Gender inequality in dating with gender equality at work can result in contradictions.
Work-life balance.
Some view that women should fulfill the role of primary caregivers, with little to no spousal support and with few services by employers or government such as parental leave or childcare. Accordingly, an issue regarding dating is the subject of career timing which generates controversy. Some views reflect a traditional notion of gender roles. For example, Danielle Crittenden in "What Our Mothers Didn't Tell Us" argued that having both a career and family at the same time was taxing and stressful for a woman; as a result, she suggested that women should date in their early twenties with a seriousness of purpose, marry when their relative beauty permitted them to find a reliable partner, have children, then return to work in their early thirties with kids in school; Crittenden acknowledged that splitting a career path with a ten-year baby-raising hiatus posed difficulties. There are contrasting views which suggest that women should focus on careers in their twenties and thirties. It is increasingly common today, however, with new generations and in a growing number of countries, to frame the work-life balance issue as a social problem rather than a gender problem. With the advent of a changing workplace, the increased participation of women in the labor force, an increasing number of men who are picking up their share of parenting and housework, and more governments and industries committing themselves to achieving gender equality, the question of whether or not, or when to start a family is slowly being recognized as an issue that touches (or should touch) both genders.
Age.
Dating can happen for people in most age groups with the possible exception of young children. Teenagers and tweens have been described as dating; according to the CDC, three-quarters of eighth and ninth graders in the United States described themselves as "dating", although it is unclear what is exactly meant by this term. A 2018 study in the "Journal of Youth and Adolescence" found that serious dating among teenagers can have negative affects on a teenager's mood. This is most likely due to the incomplete cognitive and emotional development of teenagers that cause a lack of ability to handle the challenging aspects of romantic relationships.
Young persons are exposed to many people their own age in their high schools or secondary schools or college or universities. There is anecdotal evidence that traditional dating—one-on-one public outings—has declined rapidly among the younger generation in the United States in favor of less intimate sexual encounters sometimes known as "hookups" (slang), described as brief sexual experiences with "no strings attached", although exactly what is meant by the term "hookup" varies considerably. Dating is being bypassed and is seen as archaic, and relationships are sometimes seen as "greedy" by taking time away from other activities, although exclusive relationships form later. Some college newspapers have decried the lack of dating on campuses after a 2001 study was published, and conservative groups have promoted "traditional" dating. When young people are in school, they have a lot of access to people their own age, and do not need tools such as online websites or dating services. Chinese writer Lao Wai, writing to homeland Chinese about America, considered that the college years were the "golden age of dating" for Americans, when Americans dated more than at any other time in their life. There are indications people in their twenties are less focused on marriage but on careers.
People over thirty, lacking recent college experience, have better luck online finding partners. Economist Sylvia Ann Hewlett in 2002 found that 55% of 35-year-old career women were childless, while 19% of male corporate executives were, and concluded that "the rule of thumb seems to be that the more successful the woman, the less likely it is she will find a husband or bear a child."
While people tend to date others close to their own age, age disparity in sexual relationships varies. In many countries, the older-man-younger-woman arrangement is seen as permissible or preferable. In China, older men with younger women are more likely to be described as "weird uncles" rather than "silver foxes."
A notable example of the older-woman-younger-man is Demi Moore pairing with 15-years-her-junior Ashton Kutcher. Older women in such relations have recently been described as "cougars", and formerly such relationships were often kept secret or discreet, but there is a report that such relationships are becoming more accepted and increasing.
Since divorce is increasing in many areas, sometimes celebrated with "divorce parties", there is dating advice for the freshly divorced as well, which includes not talking about your ex or your divorce but focusing on "activities that bring joy to your life." Adviser Claire Rayner in "The Guardian" suggests calling people from your address book with whom you haven't been in touch for years and say "I'd love to get back in contact." Do activities you like doing with like-minded people; if someone seems interesting to you, tell them. It's more acceptable for this group for women to ask men out.
LGBTQ+.
Dating behavior of non-heterosexual individuals does not always reflect their self-ascribed sexual orientation. Some people recognize from an early age that they are attracted to the same sex or both/all sexes but may initially adhere to heterosexual norms in their dating behaviors. Some individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ but are questioning or have not come out to their peers and family, may wait years before they start dating their preferred sex.
According to a "Psychology Today" report, men who identify as homosexual recognize their same-sex attraction in their late teens or early twenties, and tend to care more about physical attractiveness than status of a prospective partner. Men who identify as homosexual, on average, tend to have more sexual partners, while women who identify as lesbian tend to form steadier one-on-one relationships, and tend to be less promiscuous than heterosexual women.
In India, transgender individuals and eunuchs have used online dating to help them find partners, but there continue to be strong societal pressures which marginalize them.
In studies comparing children with heterosexual families and children with homosexual families, there have been no major differences noted; though some claims suggest that kids with homosexual parents end up more well-adjusted than their peers with heterosexual parents, purportedly due to the lack of marginalizing gender roles in same-sex families.
Initiation.
There are numerous ways to meet potential dates, including blind dates, classified ads, dating websites, hobbies, holidays, office romance, social networking, speed dating, or simply talking in public places, vehicles or houses. A Pew study in 2005 which examined Internet users in long-term relationships including marriage, found that many met by contacts at work or at school. The survey found that 55% of relationship-seeking singles agreed that it was