My point is that a sensible process of "meet[ing] people of the opposite gender specifically for romantic/sexual purposes" involves two substeps: (1) getting socially acquainted with said opposite-gender person, and (2) starting and cultivating an actual sexual/romantic relationship with them. Making a distinction between these substeps strikes me as being critically important, regardless of whether that person was a friendly acquaintance in the first place. The notion of "dating" fails to do that.