i say date all you want. have as many flings as you want. heck have 20 crushes at the same time even. in the end it will just tell you more about what sort of person you are and what you want in the prospective partner. there will come a point when the right person will come along and you will know it is the right one because you’ve quote unquote played the field.
as for advice i would not go to my mother for relationship advice. for numerous reasons. major being she has a different relationship definition than me. i would go to some other perosn, friend, relative or whoever. and dating doesn’t necessarily equate sex. the other point hiding and lying. from what i’ve seen it happens when you pick the person who you know your family and friends will not approve of. so why not use that brain and automatically reject such a person without getting all bollywood about it. at the same time i seriously doubt anyone tells their family immediately after teh first kiss that they have a significant other. it usually happens after a while, when you know for sure this is a serious thing.
dating can also be halal. ever heard of speed dating in masjids? yeah.