What is a date?
When two people arrange to be in the same place at the same time, for the purposes of meeting up and enjoying each other’s company, the question often arises: “Is this a date?”. That single question causes several others to arise in turn, and often leads to a great deal of panicking and soul-searching. Interpersonal relationships have become so complicated that individuals have now reached a point where the search for a partner has become a tactical operation. Even using the word “date” in the course of making the arrangement is too much for some people, in case it leads the other person to reconsider due to fear of commitment.
To make it clear to another human being that you are interested in “dating” them is seen by many as an admission of some kind of weakness. So much pressure is built up that it is easy to imagine a situation where the arrangements for a date would be handled by lawyers for fear of using the wrong words. However, it would be fair to say that if two individuals arrange to meet up for the purpose of spending time together exclusive of other people, with the potential of a romantic outcome, the it is a date. A couple may well date for months without ever using the word “date”, however, due to the “tactics” mentioned above.
A date can take place anywhere that the parties agree to. It is usual to arrange to meet for dinner or to watch a film, but the only real limitation on venue is that which exists in the minds of the two people involved.