It is just a name, right?

I have been talking to some friends about the concept of dating. I do not like the idea of dating. To me, it just seems like that you are putting on a false front to try to impress the other person. My friends disagreed and in the course of our discussion, I figured out something about dating that I am against. I think this is why I have been against dating. To me, dating implies a commitment to the other person, albeit a low level commitment. I would not be able to make that commitment to a person that I barely knew. Perhaps it isn't dating that bothers me, but making the commitment to a person that I do not know. Before I dated someone, I would want to know them first. Is this something that I am actually doing different than others, or am I just changing the name dating to friendship?