Which do you think is better. Dating or hanging out amongst friends

Which version of socializing do you think is better with the opposite sex. Dating or actually making a friendship or relationship 'official'. Or hanging out with friends with girls within the same group.

I think if you really want to get to know someone and to truly become attached to them I think hanging out amongst friends with them is the best route. That way you can get to know eachother through basic friendship. And then later on sometime if you two begin liking eachother enough you can then start getting into a more serious relationship.

The pros to doing this is you will be much surer of the relationship you have with them for the most part and you will generally have a much stronger relationship with that person if one arises. The cons are you may not be able to act out your physical attraction to somebody (not referring to sex. Mainly just kissing, caressing, making out, and such things). And another con is mixed opinions or feelings may begin to arise amongst people and feelings maybe extremely hurt from time to time.

I guess you would say that the pros to dating is you have a much more official relationship with someone. And it is ok to act out your physical attraction and what not with them. The cons of course are alot of times you don't know what you are getting yourself into as you really do not know the person yet. So you may end up acting in ways or doing certain things that you will regret later.

So which version of socializing with the opposite sex do you prefer.

Why not both? It's not like you can have one but not the other.

you could, but I think it is difficult to do. It would be difficult to divvy up the time in which you would spend with each. And for the most part I believe people who tend to have a large group of friends with many members of the opposite sex that they hang out with tend not to date a whole lot.

While people who do date alot tend to not have a large group of friends but just a few good friends. (and not many other friends of the opposite sex that they hang out with).

It would be very difficult to divvy up the time for each.

Have you ever made a thread that's NOT about relationships, darkchrono?

lol, believe it or not I have.

>>> I never had female friends and surely I never will, so I guess dating is better for me..

It's not too hard because I hardly every see him. You've just got to find a balance between the two. I mean, I'd hope the person you're dating is a friend as well as a lover but it would be hard if you two had two completely different circle of friends. It's only hard to deal with it when he's home on leave because we're all home from college and it's hard enough to find time to spend together with him and my friends. Most of us have jobs during the break.
As I've gotten older, I've discovered that things get in the way of spending time with both. You just have to make that extra effort to make time.

I prefer both. Whatever it is, you can make friends out of it.

yeah, usually if it works out it is someone you met within that group of friends or has the same group of friends. If you two have separate groups of friends it would be very difficult to balance the two.

Why not just look at it as step one and step two. Step one, you befriend the girls that you hang out with. If you fall in love with one of those girls, date her. It works. :D

yes, the point though is trying to date someone outside of the group of friends. If you eventually date someone within the group it would be much easier in the first place because you would already know the same people.

It sucks when we have 2 different groups. That is why my first boyfriend this year yeah...well anyways my friend got in a hissy fit that I was not spending enough time with her. Now I am glad because I am going to go out with a guy name Patrick and we both have the same group which makes it easier..except the whole teasing thing =p

I'd hang out with my date.

I'd rather date whilst making fun of friends like Stu. :D

I'd rather spend time with the I am dating. When she's there, I could care less about anyone else.

I think if you just "hang out" with most girls and become their friends they will never want to date you for fear of somehow damaging your existent friendship.

I much prefer Nicky to my few "friends."

"existant"?

Good good. Don't lose it completely.

I guess friends because dating I find a way to screw it up, and it's hard to go back. Dating sucks.

Friends, because I can't get dates.

I agree with darkchrono in that it's difficult to maintain a relationship outside of a group of friends. When I tried that I ended up slightly alienating myself from them, which I regret.

I think that an 'official' relationship with someone of the opposite sex is more meaningful than a friendship in a lot of cases, because a relationship is past a friendship. Having said that though, my best friend is a girl, and while I love her to bits, it couldn't ever go further than that. I like to think of it as parallel to a relationship for lack of a better description.

yeah, that is why I think people generally choose one or the other. Either to have a large group of people they hang out with (with several members of the opposite sex within the group) and not to really go on many official dates.

Or to go on official dates for the most part on a frequent basis and not to have a large group of friends with members of the opposite sex within the group that you see or hang out with on a regular basis.


If you think about it. Both approaches are kind of serving the same purpose. Which is to find a possible future marriage partner. Both just kind of have different pros and cons.

I prefer both, buts it hard not to lose our friends because you spend so much time with your bf/gf

NEVER EVER DO GROUP EVENTS WITH PEOPLE YOU ARE INTERESTED IN OMFG DON'T THEY TEACH YOU THIS STUFF IN HIGH SCHOOL????

Either one is fine by me. Those I'd like to have buds around to back me up, y'know. =P

lol, and moo moo what's wrong with doing group events with people you are interested in. It is a good way to get to know them and to find out rather you really like them or rather it is just a crush.

Wrong, it's a good way to stay friends. Bad. One-on-one = get her attention and etc. If she insists on group events it means you = friend.

*nod*

and that is why moo moo if you like eachother after spending some time getting to know eachother through groups you then can ask them out or start dating.

You would be suprised how quickly a girl will go places with you if she likes your personality, and is attracted to you at the same time.