Dating vs. Seeing Each Other, What's the Difference?

[Principessa]

Back in January of 2006 I picked up a hunky guy at the Cingular Wireless store. Yup, I'm a shameless hussy. :redface: We only went out 3 times but one of the conversations I recall was about the concept of dating versus seeing each other.

IMO dating is more serious than seeing each other and implies exclusivity. He thought just the opposite. He insisted that dating was always casual and seeing each other always meant a serious relationship.

Not sure it matters but he was from Turkey. Do these phrases have different meanings in different countries? Or is it just another instance or mars vs venus and men and women having entirely different thought processes.

My question is thus, "Dating vs. Seeing Each Other, What's the Difference?"​

 

[whatireallywant]

I think it depends on how you hear the terms when you are growing up.

I would use them interchangeably, but I almost never use the term "seeing each other". I do use "dating".

 

[SpoiledPrincess]

I also consider them to be the same thing, dating or seeing each other implies to me that it's an exclusive relationship where each of you have the right to phone at any time and say come over, where you see each other regularly and you go out to the movies, to the pub, to eat, rather than just see each other when you want to fuck.

 

[IntoxicatingToxin]

I would consider seeing to be the less serious of the two... "seeing" implies almost a friendship, but dating implies... well, dating.

 

[Mem]

I think that "seeing each other" is like in the old days when they would say going steady. Dating is just going out on dates. (to me)

 

[RomanCandle]

I think this is a question that really doesn't have an answer to it.

It's hard enough when men and women try to communicate, but when they're from different cultures...forget about it!

I agree with you that "dating" pretty much means exclusivity, but a good rule of thumb is to always make sure you're both on the same page as to what that means.

 

[TheManTheLegend]

dating jus means ur seeing eachother n seeing we're it goes, theres no commitment, u can date several ppl. seeing eachother means ur exclusive n as such can have certain rights or dibs on the person, lil less rights then a gf but substantial ones i think

 

[arliss]

dating jus means ur seeing eachother n seeing we're it goes, theres no commitment, u can date several ppl. seeing eachother means ur exclusive n as such can have certain rights or dibs on the person, lil less rights then a gf but substantial ones i think

absolutely correct

 

[No_Strings]

For me dating means exclusivity, seeing each other means precisely that - seeing how it goes with someone, if it goes well, then it moves on to dating.

At least, I used to think that until this thread made me question it - I use the line "no, sorry, I'm seeing someone" on occasion.

So I'll just wait and see what the general consensus of this thread is, and then adapt to it. :smile:

 

[TheManTheLegend]

i still think im right but i guess it jus depends where u were brought up from n who u grew up with, differant ppl differant language

 

[PussyWellington]

Oh, I think it's a cultural thing. North Americans seem to 'date' many people at the same time and see where it goes. A very good friend of mine lived in North America and a lot of problems with this. In Australia, New Zealand and Britain if you like someone then you keep 'seeing them' you don't 'see/date' other people - this means you are 'cheating'. Why would you want to date/see other people if you like this person? If you don't like them then you stop 'seeing/dating' them and find/meet someone else. We don't later have a discussion about being 'exclusive' that's assumed.

 

[SpoiledPrincess]

I agree on that, lots of people now seem to say I prefer to play the field, how anyone can prefer playing the field to being with someone they love I don't know.

 

[TheManTheLegend]

those ppl i think are jus scared honestly

 

[Principessa]

Perhaps I should amend or at least clarify my original post.

When I am seeing someone it's pretty much the getting to know you stage. We go to movies, dinner, dancing, the theater, etc. I have a poor attention span and a lousy memory so I rarely see more than two men at once. Anywho when in the seeing someone stage I'll makeout but, I don't have sex. Men hate it when you call them the wrong name in bed. :tongue:

When I say I am dating a guy, I mean I am with one man. I am not looking around for the next best thing. I don't have a fuck buddy or a friend with benefits whom I am also seeing for sex in addition to the man I am dating. When I say I am dating, I have made an emotional and physical commitment to be with one just one man.

 

[SteveWood]

I agree on that, lots of people now seem to say I prefer to play the field, how anyone can prefer playing the field to being with someone they love I don't know.

But what if you're not in love yet? Love at first sight isn't always the way it happens. If you've just met someone, and you like them, do you immediately have to stop "seeing" other people just in case you might fall in love? If not, how many dates does it take before you're officially dating/seeing each other and should go exclusive, so to speak? As to the original question, "dating" and "seeing each other" sound the same to me, but oh boy I "see" where there could be some serious misunderstandings based on the responses to this question.

 

[TheManTheLegend]

Perhaps I should amend or at least clarify my original post.

When I am seeing someone it's pretty much the getting to know you stage. We go to movies, dinner, dancing, the theater, etc. I have a poor attention span and a lousy memory so I rarely see more than two men at once. Anywho when in the seeing someone stage I'll makeout but, I don't have sex. Men hate it when you call them the wrong name in bed. :tongue:

When I say I am dating a guy, I mean I am with one man. I am not looking around for the next best thing. I don't have a fuck buddy or a friend with benefits whom I am also seeing for sex in addition to the man I am dating. When I say I am dating, I have made an emotional and physical commitment to be with one just one man.

i mean depending on the context.....like if sum1 asks u r u single n u say im seeing sum1 ok then that seems like ur commited, buuutt same bout dating u can say o we're jus dating....it really all jus depends

 

[B_josiah852]

Not to add any confusion to the post but, around here the kids are saying that they are "going out" . That means according to the ones I have ask: although they go to the movies or out to eat and or have sex: that it is not a serious relationship and they can go out with someone else the next night and another and another.

My take on dating vs. Seeing each other is: dating is just to see is the relationsip is gonna go anywhere and seeing each other means things have gotten more serious and commitments are somewhere close by.

 

[whatireallywant]

Oh, I think it's a cultural thing. North Americans seem to 'date' many people at the same time and see where it goes. A very good friend of mine lived in North America and a lot of problems with this. In Australia, New Zealand and Britain if you like someone then you keep 'seeing them' you don't 'see/date' other people - this means you are 'cheating'. Why would you want to date/see other people if you like this person? If you don't like them then you stop 'seeing/dating' them and find/meet someone else. We don't later have a discussion about being 'exclusive' that's assumed.

In some parts of the US it's this way too. Where I grew up, people always date one person at a time exclusively. I really didn't date much there, but the one or two times I did, it was one at a time. (I had problems finding dates where I grew up. I didn't fit in with the community.)

I've had an odd experience - living with one guy, and dating or having FWB besides the guy I was living with (it was an open relationship - he was aware of this and had no problem with it as long as I didn't rub it in his face). It actually worked out pretty well - the guy I used to live with and I are still very close friends and occasionally FWB (like when he came down and helped me move last week).

 

[Jovial]

'Dating' someone and 'seeing' someone can mean the same thing, so you have to go by context or ask the person what that means to them. Of course, if you ask, then they may looked at you like you're weird and socially retarded for not understanding.

Why would you want to date/see other people if you like this person? If you don't like them then you stop 'seeing/dating' them and find/meet someone else. We don't later have a discussion about being 'exclusive' that's assumed.

It's not that simple. How does one know that he or she won't like someone else better? I can see your point though that you date them until they give you a reason to not like them, then move on. Some people don't want to move on until they have someone else to be with; they don't like that in between period. (I don't agree with it.)

My take is when you start 'going out' with someone you should try to convince them to like you and convince them that they probably can't do better. I mean make them feel like it's not worth trying to find someone else because you can make them happy and give them everything they need. If you can do that, then you can demand exclusivity. I don't like some sort of societal rule that says after x dates/weeks the relationship should be exclusive. And if you're not good enough to make them feel like they can't do better, then take a step down and date people that will be happy to be commited to you.

I agree on that, lots of people now seem to say I prefer to play the field, how anyone can prefer playing the field to being with someone they love I don't know.

Maybe they haven't met someone they love, but still get lonely or horny. But I agree being with someone they love would be the ideal situation (for me at least).

 

[SpoiledPrincess]

When it's because they haven't met someone they love of course they'd want to carry on dating, but I have met several people who found someone that was ideal for them and they adored but because they felt they were too young to settle down or their plan had been to play the field they let this person go.