Dating and 'Hooking Up'

In his book, "Love, Reason, and God's Story," David Coultier describes a class of people labeled as "anti-daters."  These people are completely opposed to dating because they believe that the temporary aspect of dating makes the people in a couple practice for divorce. I strongly disagree with this belief. I think that dating is a crucial part of life. Dating allows an individual to find what characteristics she needs/wants in her future husband and what relationship dynamic is most compatible to her lifestyle.  However, I do believe that a person needs to be aware of and know her identity before entering a long term relationship. I think that serious dating relationships should be built on friendship and not just that one night when "we hooked up." In today's culture, many people enter short term relationships later in life to meet new people and see if he or she could be a possible spouse.  Teenagers, however, tend to enter relationships just for fun and to have a "boyfriend" or "girlfriend."  In these relationships, the hookup usually comes before the friendship.