We’ve all heard (or seen via Instagram) the news about Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton dating. They met as co-workers on the set of reality TV show The Voice, and now, since they both split from their respective spouses, they have become a very public item.

But what does it mean to work alongside the person you’re romantically involved with – do many people do it, or is it just something most people think about?

If you have been wondering (or considering your own workplace affair), Match.com has crunched the numbers for you to reveal a few facts on the subject. They surveyed thousands of singles in their latest “Singles in America” study, and revealed information on workplace dating.

Following are some interesting stats that Match found in regard to workplace dating:

• According to Match, one-third of singles have dated someone they work with, and more than half say a happy relationship is more important than their career.
• Of the 35% of people Match surveyed who have dated someone they work with (37% of males, 34% of females), 55% of them don’t even try to hide the romance – much like Gwen and Blake, who have been documenting it themselves via Instagram.
• An almost equal number of men and women (57% of males, 56% of females) say that a happy relationship is more important to them than their careers.
• The majority of people surveyed agree that flirting with a co-worker is totally fine (75% of men and 66% of women) - but do it after work. Forty-three percent of people surveyed said they prefer to flirt with colleagues after work rather than during the day at the office (39%). And a whopping majority of 92% said they would never flirt with their boss.
• Don’t put it in writing – only 14% of people said they have flirted with a colleague via email.
• Men are more likely to act on their feelings, regardless of the potential consequences. Forty-three percent of men vs. only 35% of women are inclined to flirt in the office. Fifity-seven percent of men vs. 29% of women fantasize about having sex with one of their co-workers, and 46% of men vs. 15% of women would consider having a one-night stand with someone they work closely with.
• Of the people surveyed who admitted to dating someone at work, 65% of them have had a one-night stand, 56% have had a friends with benefits relationship and 80% think about sex at least once a week.

Admit it: you're no stranger to taking selfies. In 2015, it's inevitable that you've at least tried it (even if you deleted it immediately afterwards in embarrassment).

But what if your selfie could do something useful? That's the premise behind dating app Blume, which hopes to solve one of the biggest problems in the dating industry: the uncertainty about who’s actually behind the profiles you're into.

Con artists lurk in the darkest corners of online dating. And even if you manage to avoid the seriously scammy profiles, there's a good chance you'll have a run in with someone who just doesn't match their photos. It's practically a rite of passage for online daters.

On Blume, photographic self-portraits save the day. Users connect via profiles, but match via freshly taken selfies. Deceptive profiles are more easily weeded out, and catfish may be more discouraged from joining in the first place. Add it all up, and you have an app that creates a safe and trusted environment in which users can feel certain about each other's true identites.

Blume users begin with a main screen that shows people nearby. If two people 'Like' each other, they connect. When a connection is made, both parties must send a selfie to each other. The photo lasts seven seconds after it's opened before disappearing forever and, in another shoutout to Snapchat, text can be placed over the picture as an icebreaker.

If you're not in selfie mode when a match is made (because let's face it, you're probably searching while you're languishing in bed with a head-pounding hangover), you can reuse a single selfie up to five times.

If you take a screenshot on Blume, you will automatically be banned for 2 hours for a first offense. Further screenshots result in a 7-day ban, a 30-day ban and, after 4 illicit screenshots, a permanent ban from the app. Blume is serious about keeping conversations, selfies and other user content private.

When a mutual match is made, any text laid over the top of the selfies is automatically transferred into a chat session and full profiles are revealed. Once in the chat, you can swipe left to send further selfies.

If uncertainty about who is behind a profile is the top problem for online daters, the second could be difficulty establishing real emotional connections when you meet through a screen. Blume also hopes selfies will help with the latter by making online dating a more intimate experience.

"We really wanted to solve these problems and make online dating a lot more personal, fun and safe at the same time,” co-founder and CEO Daniel Delouya told Bustle.

Recipient
Plenty of Fish

The recipient of the Editor's Top Pick - Innovative Award for 2015 is Plenty of Fish (POF). This online dating service has kept itself on the top by being an innovator. In 2015 POF reached more than 100 million users and has on average 3.5 active users everyday.

In the past year POF.com received a number of updates. One of the most important is the website went responsive. This means it can now be viewed on a smartphone's browser without all the pinching and zooming. Depending on the screen size of the device viewing pof.com, the website will automatically rearrange the layout along with adding and removing interface items to give the user the best possible viewing experience.

The POF service itself saw a number of new features added. One of the more popular ones was the ability to add photo's to your profile from Instagram. The POF App (iOS and Android) had the most work done on them since they had the most new features. Upgraded members (ie paid users) now have access to VoIP Calling. This means you can contact other members using the dating app for voice calling but still keep your phone number hidden for the extra bit of safety. The POF app also now can send you push notifications on your phone. This means if you are using another app while you get a new message from a potential POF match, you will be notified right away via a popup window with the message along with the ability to reply to the message.

Read our review of Plenty of Fish for more information about this online dating service or visit Plenty of Fish directly.

This Year's Runner Up for this award is: Tinder

Lisa Hoehn is an expert in the art of online dating. Her website, ProfilePolish.com, specializes in giving undateable profiles a much-needed makevoer so you are still you – just a better-sounding, better-looking version. The kind that actually gets dates.

In her new book, You Probably Shouldn't Write That: Tips and Tricks for Creating an Online Dating Profile That Doesn't Suck, Hoehn shares her best advice for creating a sought-after digital dating presence. Not only does she reveal the mistakes you probably don't even know you're making, she also offers step-by-step guidance to correct them.

Read on for 5 of her best online dating tips.

1. Pick your username carefully. Most of the time, potential suitors will ignore it. But if it's really awesome – or really terrible – they'll notice. Hoehn's biggest username no-no's include: sexual references, too many numbers, obvious bragging and your last name (because you don't need to be Googled by someone you've never even met).
2. Ban bad photos. It's more important to have good pictures than to be good-looking. Your photos should paint you in a flattering light while offering insight into your personality and lifestyle. Images that are blurry, small, dark, grainy, edited, outdated and – worst of all – don't even include you – need to be nixed.
3. Use the English language (or whichever one you speak) properly. Sloppy grammer and spelling mistakes are instant attraction killers. Hoehn also advises against including too many exclamation points, overusing emoticons, typing in all caps and adding hashtags.
4. Watch your words. Certain subjects just don't belong in your dating profile. Don't insult a group of people. Don't mention your ex. Don't be blatantly sexual (unless you're using a service specifically for that). Don't talk about money or your medical history. Don't say you're looking for a “new beginning,” a “fresh start,” or something “drama-free” – because what you're really saying is “I come with a lot of baggage.”
5. Don't go overboard. If you're one of the rare specimens who actually enjoys filling out a profile, resist the urge to pen a novel. Don't wax poetic about your favorite subjects (no one cares). Don't use too many lists. Don't make sweeping, corny romantic statements (it's cheesy and you're definitely jumping the gun). Don't share so many details about your life that there's nothing left to talk about on a date.

For more top tips from Lisa Hoehn, pick up a copy of You Probably Shouldn't Write That: Tips and Tricks for Creating an Online Dating Profile That Doesn't Suck at Amazon.com.

Recipient
Passion.com

The 2015 Editors Top Pick - Sexy Award recipient is Passion.com. This ultimate hookup dating service has over 60 million profiles from the United States alone and over 5 million from Canada. If you are looking for an intimate encounter then this popular FriendFinder Network service is a great place to start since they have so many active members.

Passion is free to search and view snippets of profiles. To communicate and view photos, videos and full profiles it is required you become either a paid member or, you can unlock one profile to view and communicate with for a small fee. As a full paid member you can communicate (email, chat, video, etc..) with any member, and any member (including free ones) can reply to your communication. This is one of the reasons in which makes Passion.com so popular since most adult oriented dating sites only allow paid members to communicate fully with each other.

Passion.com is all about the community and the service let's them express themselves in as many ways as possible. There are user blogs, forums, and interest groups. There is also the Sex Academy and member contests. Plus members can have top fans and run live webcams. With your profile you can also receive questions about yourself from members which you can answer (and post publicly), have testimonials, and create your own Bling.

Read our review of Passion.com for more information about this dating service or visit Passion.com directly.

There was no runner up in 2015 for this award.

As we kick off 2016, there's no denying online dating has gone mainstream. We're firing off Match.com messages while waiting in line for coffee, swiping through Tinder profiles on public transportation, and hoping we don't run into anyone from work on OkCupid.

But while online dating has become the go-to for millions of singles, it's not the only option available. Remember that thing called the real world? Yeah, it's still around too. And some people even prefer to date that way.

For the screen-shy, 2016 could be the year to ditch online dating for good (or at least a trial period). There's just one catch: you have to remember how to meet someone face-to-face. Here are 5 resolutions to make if you're burnt out on online dating and want to get back to basics.

1. Put the phone away. Part of this is about avoiding temptation. With your phone in hand, you'll be much more inclined to open Tinder for a sneaky swipe or two. This is also about openness. You don't look approachable when your face is glued to a screen. And without that source of entertainment, you're much more likely to look for entertainment elsewhere – like actually talking to people.
2. Leave the house. Online dating is awesome because it allows you to meet tons of new people from the comfort of your couch. Offline dating? Not so much. You'll score exactly 0 dates if you don't make an effort to turn off Netflix and get out of your PJs. The more you interact with people, the more likely you are to meet one who sparks your interest.
3. Know your audience. What does your ideal date like to do? You could go to a bar and hope for the best (and you'd hardly be the first person to meet their significant other that way), but there are better methods. Go to places – like clubs, meetups, events and group activities – that you're interested in to increase your chance of meeting people you're attracted to.
4. Say “yes.” When a friend invites you to something social, say yes. Say yes even if you're tired, or had a stressful day at work, or only have a few more episodes to binge watch before you finish the series. You never know who else said those magical three letters too.
5. Take risks. Online dating is all about lowering risk. It's hard to feel the full sting of rejection when it's coming from behind a screen. In real life, you have face a potential “no” head-on. Be bold. Talk to the good-looking person at the end of the bar, or pass your number to the neighboring table at a cafe. Bravery is the best way to secure yourself a date in 2016.