Basically I think "dates" are becoming less official and more ambiguous. People will meet and absolutely ask if the other person wants to get coffee sometime or meet up for a drink, but not the whole dinner/movie/one person is expected to pay for everything shtick, at least in my experience. Sometimes it's not clear whether it's just to hang out and get to know each other as friends or if there's romantic interest. From an American perspective, how else do you get to know someone but by spending time with them?