I do not understand why guys are so reluctant to be men. It's like y'all think every woman is out to use you and cheat on you. You get what you give. Be a good person and 9/10 you will attract good. Start off playing games and being paranoid about your pockets and a woman will act accordingly.
I don't think every woman is out there intentionally using guys (although a lot are). However, a lot of women want to date a variety of men before choosing one. They really don't have a strong interest of most of these men, but just want to see what is out there. So you end up wasting your time and energy on women that aren't really feeling you like that.
This is why you're better off dating women you already know fairly well. The dating process goes much better if chemistry has been established before the date. Even if we go back to the old courting days, men courted women they knew for years. I'm pretty sure the smart dudes courted women that they already knew liked them. Women had a lot less options then as well, so that also helped.
I think men should pay for the first date, but we need to be smarter about who we are willing to take out. I'm at the point where it needs to be obvious that she's attracted to me before I'm willing to spend a dime on her.