Dating: What's the Point?

In chapter five of his book "Love, Reason, and God's Story", David Cloutier examines arguments within Christianity in favor of dating and opposed to the practice of dating.  Some of the 'anti-daters' argue that dating in our current social context is 'essentially practice for divorce'.  Please read the first section of Chapter 5 (111-119).  In your response, share your reaction to this claim, as well as your reaction to the reasons given to justify dating (those by Freitas and King among others).  How does this argument compare with the experience of you/your peers and 'contemporaries'?  Finally, how does this compare to the 'hook-up' culture prevalent in high schools, colleges and universities in 2013?