No matter what our age, background or relationship status, we’re all connected by one common theme – our quest to find love.

There was a time when dating was simple. Ok, maybe simple is the wrong word; it’s never been simple, it was just a little easier. In the days before the Internet became weaved into the fabric of our everyday lives, finding a date was more of a natural process. Whether you were introduced to a potential partner through a friend, you met someone at work or you simply approached someone to show your interest - it happened if it happened. You had one phone that people could either contact you on or not contact you on. Better still, you didn’t even have a phone, you had love letters.

A while back I read an article titled ‘Your Love Life on The Boil’, written by Jane Mulkerrins; a new dating theory which stood out to me. Despite its name, ‘Hob Theory’ has little to do with cooking but a lot to do with keeping your options open.

As a single girl myself I know that all too often singles can be pitied because they’re on their own at Christmas. Even that sentence, ‘on their own’, sounds wrong. They’re not on their own, they’re just not in a relationship at that particular time. Besides, why should being single at Christmas be so miserable? It’s a great time of year whatever your age, whatever you relationship status.

The first kiss was so amazing you were overcome with starry-eyed dreaminess and there were imaginary fireworks going off around you, it’s just a shame you had nothing to talk about over dinner.

With so many online dating sites out there it can be hard deciding which site is the right one for you. Here at Independent Dating we know how important it is to meet someone who is on your wave-length and that’s exactly why we offer a service that is dedicated to helping like-minded singles to connect.

As a nation we’re quite literally ‘spoilt for choice’. Everywhere we turn there is a mind-boggling parade of consumer choices offering everything from clothes, gadgets, holidays, entertainment and pet insurance, to what career paths to follow and how to plan our social calendars. You only need to pop into your local supermarket for a tube of toothpaste and a pint of milk, to realise that the sheer amount of choices on offer are overwhelming. Each product claiming to do something different from the next – do you want organic milk or regular, do you want it from a cow or from a bean, with or without calcium?

Whatever our life stage, lifestyle or background, we’re all connected by one common theme - the quest for love; but how does our life stage affect our attitudes towards looking for the one especially when it comes to online dating? Independent Dating takes a look.

Whether matchmaking soul mates, facilitating marriages or simply starting two strangers off on the right path, online dating is jaw-droppingly brilliant in that it taps into something people do every day – meet other people speculatively with a view to romance.

With dating comes an unwritten code of behaviour, which is more commonly known as ‘Dating Etiquette’. The internet may have revolutionised age-old rituals of courtship and created an entirely new etiquette for online dating, but just because you’re sat behind a computer, doesn’t mean you should abandon them altogether. Dating etiquette still applies online so in order to succeed, here are some basic principles that must still be adhered to.

Online dating is now the third most popular way to meet a potential partner and is a great way to cast your net a little wider than your immediate social circle; yet despite this, there still seems to be many myths surrounding it. If you haven’t tried online dating yet or you’re thinking about trying it but are put off by what you’ve heard listen up, because Independent Dating are here to dispel some of those nasty rumours.

When it comes to dating there tends to be an invisible rule book which most of us follow religiously. Millions of rules, most of which are nothing but mind games, that we feel we must abide by should we find ourselves on the dating scene. With so many rules and so much not-so-helpful advice for example, ‘don’t kiss on a first date’, ‘don’t commit to a weekend date after Wednesday’, ‘don’t order spaghetti if you’re going for dinner’ and so on, we can sometimes feel somewhat confused about dating.

Over the last few years all we’ve heard is economic crisis, recession, negative growth, budget cuts and, well, you get the picture.

Many people think that online dating is a fail-proof, fast-track way to finding the person of your dreams. Put your profile up, sit back and wait to be inundated with messages from hundreds of attractive singles. However, it really is no different to any other ‘conventional’ way of meeting a new partner in that it requires time, effort and attention. So to make sure you get the most from your time on Independent Dating we’ve put together a few essential tips.

We know dating isn't rocket science but sometimes it’s nice to just have a little help and guidance. So with that in mind we've put together a few simple steps for you to remember during and after the important date, to ensure that you enjoy it rather than stress about it. You can thank us later!