Through personal experience and from what my friends and acquaintances tell me, I am not alone. When it comes to being single there are quite a few men and women out there who are single and not ready to mingle.

Their reasons - from the trivial 'I am looking for true love' to the more believable (?) 'I have no time'.

So, is dating dead then?

After all, is dating not all about spending time with that special someone? About coffee at the neighbourhood coffee shop or movie at the multiplex If you are the adventurous types it could also mean going for a day's hike over the weekend to that nature spot you both love.

But it is that three-letter word that plays spoilsport more often than not. No, not mom! I am referring to sex.

For as much as we hate to admit it, everyone's got sex on their mind.

Man or woman. If you are not getting it, you want it and if you have it, you want more of it!

Media professional Supriya Thanawala observes, "I do think that dating most often than not leads to casual sex, but it is not necessary for two people to 'date' each other today (specially spend time with each other and have outings and dinners), in order for them to merely have some casual sex. Dating mostly may lead to sex; but sex may not always lead to dating."

Apparently 'to do or not to do', is a big deal.

Says account executive Kavita Jain, "Dating is all about going out and having fun. But eventually you do look for a commitment in the relationship." She even takes a crack at her single status and the opposite sex. "I am single but where are the good guys yaar?" she asks.

While dating does throw open a world of opportunity, it also raises some pertinent questions as well. Would you date others while dating someone?

How far are you willing to go (and by that I am not referring to a travel destination) with someone you are dating? For all said and done (no pun intended) dating does not equal commitment.

It would then seem that dating though alive is not kicking really. Both Supriya and Kavita have friends who are seeing / dating other people.

Dating and social networking sites are proliferating and if things don't work out, you simply move on. After all, you don't need a date to go see a movie! What are friends for?