TALKING vs. RELATIONSHIP

i wonder, ..... are relationship problems more important when you are in a relationship rather than the "talking phase"...and if you have been talking to someone over 3 years, is there another name for it?... i definitely feel like talking to someone for 3 years or more consists of the same emotional investment as in a "committed relationship," but to outsiders, what plays a bigger role?

I have seen plenty of people brush off the severity of relationships due to the fact that both parties have not taken that "serious" leap, and therefore is not as important. I have friends that have talked to guys for years but have not established a full on commitment.

It is sometimes hard to take a friends relationship as seriously if you have never witnessed the couple in their natural environment,... it kind of detaches you from them and their issues. Of course, you are still a friend, and you listen and solicit advice. I've been on both ends of the spectrum. The one to be in a relationship and the one to talk to guys for long periods of time, and have had my relationship downplayed by outsiders. I get both sides. Understandable a relationship consists of two people, but there is something greater when your family and friends are invited into the life you two share. How could you date someone that you can't bring home to mommy, or friends? ... Me personally, I could never completely fall in love with someone who my family and friends have not had the opportunity to meet. It's connecting the two that makes your bond even stronger, because now they not only respect you, but your environment. IDK.

Problems are definitely taken in a different light when in a "talking" phase and having not witnessed the relationship and being in a "relationship"....idk, it just is.