What the Survey said
In preparation for material on dating, this author personally surveyed people from all walks of life and culture which is summarize below. In order to show the spectrum the following groupings were made:
Married Male - I would look for the physical relationship. I should have waited to establish a Christian relationship. We should not have lived together without benefit of marriage. We should have established our material values and priorities first.
Married Female - I should have waited to gain a greater personal knowledge of the person that I was dating before dating him. How I wish we could have reconciled our priorities and attitudes before things got serious. We should have determined the areas of compromise. I should have waited until I could trust and respect him completely. I should have waited longer to get married. I should have secured my relationship with God and insured that he had one as well.
Single Male - I am attracted to the physical and sexual person first and last and in between I am looking for recreational compatibility.
Single Female - +40. I don't like dating because dating should be for the sole purpose of marrying. I can not and will not get intimate with anyone unless I feel comfortable to share my creative skills with him. I think that it is okay to remain single.
Single Female - 22-39 Men do not know how to honor commitment, so our ideas regarding dating are wrong from the beginning. I will focus on his behavior and intellect rather than his looks. (This summary surprised me, as a male, I have always felt that the female focus on the visual). I want to know if he can be a family leader. Is he responsible, can I depend on him.
Single Female - 16 -21. Going on a date is like going on an interview, the best qualities are revealed but may not be real. I look for offensive behavior. I am generally sensitive about how I should act, if we kiss should it be a peck, if we kiss will my breath be okay, how should we hug and will I use good judgment. Maybe I should just stay single and enjoy life without dating.
Please note that there are more comments from females than males and the reason is very simple; most males did not want to discuss the issue and there was not much variation from those that would.