Picture the nerd stereotype you've seen in countless movies. His eyes are glued to a computer screen. He looks like he hasn't showered in a week or seen sun in several years. The closest he comes to social interaction is chatting on gaming forums. He's probably in his parents' basement.

The image is meant to be funny, but it hits a little too close to home for an online dating addict. Your eyes are still glued to a computer (or smartphone) screen. You're so focused on swiping right or sending messages that you may never get to the actual date. Can you even remember what face-to-face interaction looks like?

If that sounds (even remotely) like you, it's time to step away from the screen and re-engage with humanity. Your introduction back into society may be difficult. You may have forgotten how to interact with real people. But remember these tips, and you'll be out of relationship rehab in no time.

1. Take a break from your smartphone. Step #1 should be obvious. If you're constantly checking your email or uploading pictures of your meal to Instagram, you're not engaging with the world. That's the ultimate guarantee that you won't meet anyone special (and if you're already on a date, it's just plain rude).
2. Make an effort. Online dating services streamline the process as much as possible. The less work for you, the better. Algorithms are designed to take the guesswork out of dating, but let's face it – if you're not willing to work to find your partner, what are you will to work for? Does it get any lazier than swiping? In the real world, you have to be proactive. Approach someone intriguing and say hi.
3. Reacquaint yourself with body language. All that slouching you do in front of your computer? It sends the wrong message when you're with a date. Things like posture and gestures speak volumes about who you are, so make sure they're saying the right things. Smile. Make eye contact. Sit up straight. Learn how to project confidence and interest.
4. Have a shtick if you need it. Online, striking up a conversation can be as easy as clicking a button to send a digital wink. Offline, communication is a little (ok, a lot) more complex. Thinking on the spot can be hard, especially if you haven't done it in while. It's ok to have a few stock questions or ice breakers in mind if you're anxious about meeting people in person.
5. Get comfortable with yourself. The photos on your dating profile can have careful lighting, Myspace angles, and so many filters you barely look human. Since no one has invented real-life Photoshop, you have to get comfortable with your real self. Dress in a way that makes you feel confident and attractive, whether that's sweatpants and a t-shirt or custom-made Valentino. You're automatically more attractive when you feel comfortable.

I read a lot of online dating profiles, and have found a certain commonality. Unfortunately, it’s something that many people don’t think is a deterrent for potential matches, so they don’t notice that they’re doing it. Or they think it will help weed out matches if they include it, but if you do this, it works against you.

What is this thing that we do that is hindering rather than helping our chances?

We state upfront, at the beginning of the profile exactly what we don't want.

In other words, phrases like “no drama, please” is like waving a red flag to your potential dates. As one dater said in her cheeky profile: “your baggage should fit in the glove compartment of your car.” Unfortunately, she is asking for trouble. These kinds of phrases should be tossed. So should descriptives like “no cheaters, crazies, players, gold-diggers, liars,” and those who post “fake profile pictures.”

Why is this such a bad thing? After all, most of us want to avoid these types, right?

The truth is, when you state what you don’t want, you are not only turning off the very people you want to attract (who will assume you are just as crazy, or a liar, etc.), you will attract the kind of dater you don’t want to meet. Are you ready for the drama? Didn't think so.

Your profile isn’t a sounding board for all of your past experiences. While others might identify with you, it won’t necessarily attract them to you. In fact, it works against you. They might be envisioning you stalking them (if you’ve dated cheaters), or that you have lied about your age or posted old photos (if you mentioned no liars), or that you are a drama queen if you are emphatic about not wanting drama in your profile.

Instead, your profile needs to focus on the life you want to create – your future. If you really want to attract someone to you, you have to paint an inviting picture. In other words, focus not only on the positive, but let them know who you are – funny, sensitive, intelligent, really into anime, a Dodgers fan, whatever you would like to include. Invite a conversation by talking about your interests, and asking if potential dates have any stories to share.

Inviting a conversation goes a long way. Describing your interests, your passions, your curiosity about life is sexy and attractive. It makes people want to find out more. They can better envision what dating you might be like.

Emphasizing what you don’t want in a relationship doesn’t communicate anything about you and what you do want, so it’s much harder for potential matches to visualize being in a relationship with you – except for its potential negative consequences. Avoid this, and you will improve your online dating experience significantly.

The debate about social media is nothing new.

Supporters say social networking sites allow us to stay more connected than ever before, no matter how many miles are in between. Detractors say all that connectedness is doing us harm – or, worse, isn't real connection at all.

Regardless of which side you fall on, we can all agree on one thing: social media makes dating even more confusing.

Gone are the days of anxiously waiting for the next chance to see your crush, or slowly revealing parts of your life as you get to know someone. We drive ourselves crazy monitoring every single update on our love interests' social media, and that isn't helping anyone.

For the sake of your sanity, you need to simplify. Avoid these 4 social media mistakes to streamline your love life.

1. Don't cyber stalk. It's hard not to do this, especially when you're online dating. In fact, a small amount of research might be a good thing for online daters – but only enough to confirm that you're talking to a real person who you feel safe meeting, and nothing more. There's no reason to go so far down the social media rabbit hole that you know the name of your date's high school girlfriend. If things go well, you'll find out everything you need or want to know organically.
2. Don't overshare. Social media is meant for communication, but that's no reason to unleash an explosive case of verbal diarrhea on your unsuspecting followers. You don't need to catalogue every up and down of your dating life. If you're happy, resist the urge to gush. If you're unhappy, resist the urge to write bitter missives condemning love. One day you may feel differently, and the old posts will be uncomfortable reminders of the past.
3. Don't follow in the first place. If the first two rules are too hard for you to follow, follow this one instead: no friending or following. When you're in the early stages of dating, social media is a minefield of potential disasters just waiting to explode. The easiest way to avoid the anxiety is not to add each other in the first place. Not that you can't ever do it, but it's best left for a time when the relationship feels more secure. Get to know each other in person, not through a screen.
4. Don't compare. Even if you're not in a relationship, social media rules apply. Research has found that negative emotional consequences arise from comparing yourself to others on social media. It's an incomplete picture – we only show our best and brightest moments online, meaning it's easy to assume our friends have perfect lives when reality could be much different. It's impossible to compare the surface portrayed by a social media profile to your fully three-dimensional life. Don't let it get you down if you're single and it seems like all your friends are ecstatically in love.

The bottom line is, social media is a great tool – as long as you stay aware of the added pressures it brings to the rest of your life.

In Aziz Ansari and Eric Klinenberg’s new book Modern Romance, they discuss the disconnect of online dating in Japanese culture. Despite Japan’s adoption of and love for technology, single people still stigmatize online dating.

The reasons are part cultural and part historical. Japanese singles haven’t had a good experience with online dating, historically speaking. In the 1990’s when online dating first hit the singles scene, online dating companies had male members pay per message and also used their female employees as bait, posting their profiles on the dating sites to attract more male users. More recently, fake dating sites have been exposed, with companies using male employees to pose as girls on the sites and charging their male members to talk to them – (obviously, those members never get to the date).

It’s easy to see why Japanese singles are skeptical. But now dating apps have made things a little easier to verify. First, like most dating apps all over the world, users are verified through their Facebook profile, so it’s not easy to create fake accounts. And Japan is really embracing social media, especially after both LinkedIn and Facebook helped families find each other after the 2011 earthquake.

But another interesting trend is happening with Japanese online daters. The culture is rather conservative when it comes to dating – and guys don’t want to be thought of as players. Since dating apps have become synonymous with hook-ups, Japanese - and men especially - are weary to sign up for fearing like they will come across as insincere. So people aren’t really embracing online dating.

In fact, they aren’t dating much at all. Most Japanese singles are much more focused on work, which means working long hours and delaying starting a family. This is also taking a toll on their social lives. A 2014 survey by the Japan Family Planning Association found that 49% of all respondents had not had sex in the past month, and 18% of men said they had no interest in sex at all. On top of this, they face a serious population decline.  According to Business Insider, a 2012 report by Japan's National Institute of Population and Social Security Research shows the number of Japanese people will fall from 127 million to around 87 million by 2060.

Still not everyone is averse to online dating. The country has seen some interesting trends.

Selfies tend to be popular with online dating in most countries, but are looked upon as narcissistic in Japan. Even a photo showing an online dater by herself is frowned upon because Japanese tend to view this as self-centered. Most daters either post photos with a group of friends (so you can’t really identify the person you are meeting), or they post photos of their cats or random objects. One of the weirdest trends among online daters is posting photos of their rice cookers in their profiles, according to Modern Love.

There are definite cultural and practical barriers to get beyond when it comes to online dating in Japan. But as time goes on and it becomes more trust-worthy and mainstream, hopefully singles will embrace it.

Spark Networks, owner of a handful of niche dating sites like ChristianMingle.com, JDate.com, and BlackSingles.com, has released financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2015.

The company has good news to report, primarily centered around attempts to turnaround business after growth stalled for ChristainMingle and JDate. Highlights include:

• Significant, double-digit improvement in win-back rates with key cohorts
• Double-digit improvement on ChristianMingle TV spend efficiency
• New communication platform driving increased user engagement
• Subscriber base stabilized on both JDate and ChristianMingle in July versus June
• Reiterating commitment to subscriber growth in Q4

Chief Executive Officer Michael Egan stated, "We are pleased to have made considerable progress toward transforming our business during the second quarter, and remain on track to return to sequential subscriber growth across both JDate and ChristianMingle by Q4.”

The expense reduction and improved efficiency program Spark Networks announced in 2014 is showing signs of success so far. Excluding direct marketing expenses, cost and expenses in the second quarter of 2015 were $7.1 million, a decrease of 20% compared to the year ago period. Direct marketing expenses in the second quarter of 2015 were $5.3 million, a decrease of 33% compared to the year ago period and a 12% decrease compared to the prior quarter.

On the downside, revenue in the second quarter of 2015 was $12.3 million, a decrease of 22% compared to the year ago period, and a 9% decrease from the prior quarter. The decreases were primarily driven by a loss in paying subscribers, particularly for the Christian and Jewish Networks segments.

Spark Networks plans to continue its “crawl, walk, run” strategy for the remainder of 2015. A re-design and re-architecture of the company's core websites is in the works. An updated JDate experience is expected in early Q4, followed by an updated ChristianMingle experience in the latter part of that quarter.

Other product improvements are in the works concurrently. An upgraded communication platform has dramatically increased users' interactions, and improved mobile offerings have also seen a positive response.

In addition to improving the product, Spark Networks is working hard to improve its marketing strategy. Changes have been made to the customer acquisition and retention programs with good results. The company has seen in excess of 10% efficiency gains with their ChristianMingle television marketing spend, and July 2015 generated more initial registrations on JDate than any month since the first quarter of 2014.

"It is important to note that this is just the start,” stated Michael Egan. “As we roll out new and refreshed products, and continue to enhance our operational capabilities, we expect to drive continued improvements in customer growth and retention.”

For more on Spark Networks 2 most popular dating services you can read our Christian Mingle review and our JDate review.

MeetMe is a smaller player in the social networking space, but it has undertaken a number of initiatives to boost its customer base. Looking at the company's financial results for the second quarter of 2015, they appear to be paying off.

Highlights of Q2 include:

• Mobile revenue was $8.3 million, up 47% from the second quarter of 2014
• Mobile revenue represented 75% of total revenue, the highest in MeetMe's history
• Total revenue was $11.1 million, up 4% from the second quarter of 2014
• Cash and Cash Equivalents totaled $16.2 million at June 30, 2015
• Net income was $1.2 million compared to a net loss of $1.4 million for the second quarter of 2014