Summer dating is finally here. That means warm weather, plenty of sun, beaches, vacations — you know the drill.

Some people also associate summer with carefree fun. Others relate it more closely to romance. Who is right in this? Is summer a time for flings or dating romance?

Obviously, two people can fall in love irrespective of the season. However, statistically speaking, summer tends to be more of a season for carefree flings than for starting long-term relationships. Why is this so?

#1. Increased Outdoor Activity

Once summer hits, you have an abundance of opportunities to engage in fun outdoor recreational activities.

This covers everything from going to the beach, spending a day at the park, hiking, biking — as long as it can be done outdoors and you enjoy it — summer is a time for it.

This means that your mindset will be more honed toward the spontaneous than the planned.

You will tend to look forward more to an outing with friends than to all of the planning that normally goes into a first date.

#2. Spontaneous Encounters

Due to the fact that you are spending more time outdoors and adhering less to structured schedules during summer, you will also be more likely than at any other time of the year to meet someone who you really click with right out of the blue.

You know the type of encounter that we are talking about.

That person whom you met while buying an ice cream cone at a summer music festival — that person who you weren't expecting to meet when you left your house that morning.

When you meet someone under those circumstances and you have chemistry a lot can happen. It is much easier to throw caution to the wind.

This can result in some memorable casual encounters and one or two summer flings.

When you have that sort of physical activity going on throughout summer you are not going to be too inclined to be seeking a formal partner at that point. You'll be too busy enjoying your laissez-faire private life.

#3. You are Travelling

Travel, even if it's just a weekend getaway, is very common throughout the summer months.

Some of you may even be lucky enough to take several weeks off and visit a foreign land or an exotic beach.

When you are engaged in travel, a funny thing happens to most of us.

You develop a more leisurely attitude about everything.

You become more of a free spirit. Even the most buttoned-down person becomes a bit more open-minded. Old hang ups are tossed aside.

When you are traveling — or when you know that you will be traveling soon — your mind will not be geared toward dating and all of the preparation that it involves.

You will be focusing more on the fun that you will be having at your destination and all of the casual encounters that you might have once you get there.

In other words, your nesting instinct is at its weakest during summer. Your wayward and friskier side emerges. Hookup sites are a traveler's best friend in this day and age.

#4. Weddings

It is ironic that the season with the most weddings also happens to be the season that is least prone to establishing long-term romance.

However, as we all know, June weddings are big. It is quite likely that you will be invited to one, or two, or three weddings during the course of a summer.

While that is certainly a moment of extreme joy for the happy couples that are marching down the aisle, for you, the invited guest, attending a wedding simply serves to remind you how short your single days can be.

While autumn and spring weddings can bring out the romantic in all of us, summer weddings will be more likely to make us want to jump with glee that we are still single and are able to enjoy all that summer has to offer.

Heck, you may even leave that summer wedding with another single guest and dash off to have your own little fling before the happy couple has a chance to start their honeymoon.

#5. Its Freaking Hot

While images of an evening on a beach full of hot sweaty passion can be very erotic, one should not forget that summer days and nights are just too freaking hot.

When the mercury hits levels that make you crave nothing but one cold drink after another under the comfort of an air conditioner, the last thing that some people want to deal with — no matter how passionate they are — is to be cuddling all lovey-dovey style with a partner.

Summer nights of passion tend to be intense but without much post-sex cuddling. Obviously, that's the perfect setting for casual flings as opposed to the dawning of a new romance.

#6. The Sexy Body Temptation

Man or woman, gay or straight, when summer comes around it brings with it plenty of physical temptation.

Both men and women will be dressed in summer attire. This includes everything from bikinis, shorts, tank tops and everything else that shows off their physique.

While few people will readily admit to letting themselves be superficial during summer and going out with people purely based on their looks, the reality is that a great number of people do so.

Hey, there's nothing wrong with that. However, it just adds another reason why summer is more for flings and not for long-term dating.

-Wrap Up-

As we said at the beginning, summer is the season for fun and sun. This means that it also is the time when you will be at your most carefree.

While there is nothing written in stone that forbids you from starting a long-term relationship during summer, just be aware that on a subconscious level you will be less prone to do so.

Those around you, even those who would be great prospects for something long-term at any other time of the year, will likewise be not as prone to start something serious during summer.

That means that you should see summer as a time to let loose. Enjoy the climate, enjoy the outdoors, and above all — enjoy yourself. If that means having a few flings, a few no-strings-attached encounters —go ahead, you deserve it.