Technology playing Cupid

No matter their age, singles looking for love are turning to technology to enhance their dating life. However, despite using technology to do everything from kicking things off via text to researching their date online, a recent study by It's Just Lunch, the premier dating service for busy professionals, found singles also temper their technology-driven search with some good old fashioned gut feelings and face time with one another.

Some highlights from the survey, which included over 18,000 singles ages 25 to 74:
Exercise those thumbs, because you're going to be texting...at least in the beginning. After swapping numbers with someone they're attracted to, the majority of singles under the age of 55 said their first contact was likely to be via text.

For 25-to-34 year-olds, a whopping 80 percent said they're more likely to text than call initially. However, once you're getting phone calls, you know they're serious. Nearly 65 percent of singles say they prefer to call someone they're interested in.

Singles might spend a lot of time on Facebook, but it's not chatting with their latest love interest. 56 percent of all respondents said they never use social media to interact with a love interest.

When asked what social platform they use most often to engage with a significant other, the majority in every age group chose email over social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter- results that underscore the fact that intimacy flourishes from the protection of the public eye.

A picture speaks a thousand words? Well apparently singles don't think so as over 66 percent of singles said they never use Skype in their relationships. 30 percent use Skype when they have been apart for a significant amount of time, though.

Singles might want to spend a little time investigating themselves online so they're prepared when their date knows everything about them from their alma mater to what they had for dinner last night.

61 percent of singles say they research someone they're dating, with 60 percent of them hitting the web before the date. Don't panic just yet. 32 percent say they wouldn't cancel the date over what they find online.

First published in CIOL

Despite the belief that we're all permanently tethered to our devices these days, 76 percent of all singles surveyed said they have no issues with their partner when it comes to putting the phone away and spending some quality time together. That leaves 24 percent who can't seem to disconnect.

This might disappoint some, but 70 percent of singles say they've never texted a sexually suggestive photo to a love interest. 29 percent hit the send button every once in a while.

The biggest differences between men and women? 68 percent of women said they research their dates, compared to 56 percent of the men. The ladies are more likely to be continuing that research by sneaking a peek at your texts too, gentlemen.

37 percent of the women said they'd looked at a love interest's text messages at least once before, while just 25 percent of the men admitted to snooping.