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Are most women looking for tall, dark and handsome when it comes to finding a husband? Or are they looking for incredible chemistry over friendship? Not according to the mental health professionals surveyed by dating website YourTango. Participants were asked a series of questions on how their clients felt about what makes a man good husband material.

The vast majority of survey respondents agreed that among their clients, a man's ability to communicate was the number one quality to make him a good contender for a husband. This makes sense with mental health professionals - most of the time they are coaching their clients on how to communicate needs and desires without alienating or attacking each other. This is very important to creating a lasting and happy marriage. (For those of us who've experienced relationships lacking good communication skills, this is definitely a must!)

Two other traits that women wanted most in a husband were close behind: reliability and honesty. So, were looks or career success anywhere in the picture?

The respondents claimed their clients were least interested in a man's height, his religion/ethnicity, or his job. This data was surprising, considering how many female online daters complain about not wanting to date shorter men, or men who make less money than they do. This survey shows that in finding a good partner, these traits or practices matter least. Women are much more interested in connecting and communicating well with a potential husband.

Other findings include:

A majority of respondents said that women cannot tell everything they need to know about a man by how he treats his own mother. "Not even close" 65% of respondents claimed. So don't discount a potential love just because he's not close with his mother. (Although I will add if he treats women with disrespect, especially family members, this is a red flag!)

A majority of respondents (55%) disagreed with the assumption that if a man is over 40 and never been married, he's afraid of commitment and not husband material. They encourage women to give these men a chance, because likely they are independent and were looking to get further along in their careers before settling down.

Fifty-eight percent of respondents agree that single dads can make great husbands. But the verdict is split on whether divorced men make good husbands: About 50% say they do.

Bad boys can redeem themselves. Ninety-six percent of respondents agree that good husbands are made, not born, and 85% think a man with a checkered past can evolve into a great partner over time.

It's hardly an exaggeration to say that it seems like everyone is online dating. Until I finally broke down and joined, I was in the minority amongst my friends for not having an online dating profile.

But what seems commonplace here, in America, isn't nearly as common elsewhere. My travels around the world have revealed vastly different attitudes towards relationships and online dating.

In France, for example, a nation famous for being home to one of the most romantic cities in the world, singles take a more spontaneous approach to dating. American and British dating companies have struggled to crack the international market in countries like France, where local attitudes aren't as compatible with the online approach.

Around the world, dating looks very different:

• In Australia... Dating is a relaxed affair. Singles don't ask each other out on formal dates or make romantic gestures. Some Australians find it difficult to date, due to the lack of a formal dating culture. Some even say it's hard to tell when you're out with friends and when you're out with a romantic prospect!
• In Taiwan... The dating culture is much more conservative. Dates meet through friends and typically stick to finding romance within their social circles. Flirting with strangers in bars and clubs is considered odd.
• In China... Tradition is extremely important. Dating isn't about romance and love - it's about practicality. Marriage is expected, and standards are high. Singles' clubs set dates up based on requirements like height, income, and property ownership. Parents gather in parks to pair up their unwed children. Women who aren't married before reaching their late twenties are considered sheng nu - "leftover women." Arranged marriages are banned, but matchmaking is still popular.

To respond to the needs of different countries, online dating sites must tailor their services to the unique customs of each nation. Doing so is no easy task. Significant research is required to determine exactly what appeals to daters of different nationalities. In the U.S., for instance, singles value having similar levels of spirituality as their partners. In Brazil, passion is valued more than religious faith.

As the online dating industry continues to expand its borders, dating sites are forced to keep evolving. The future may be in the work of researchers like Dr. Helen Fisher, an anthropology professor at Rutgers University. Fisher's studies examine the ways testosterone, dopamine, estrogen, and serotonin influence attraction, with the goal of matching compatible partners based on similar or complementary brain chemistry.

And best of all...the work of researchers like Dr. Fisher is applicable anywhere in the world, making dating sites more effective no matter where you go.

When you want to travel, you turn to TripAdvisor for reviews of hotels, flights, and vacation rentals. When you're looking for a new book to take poolside this summer, you read Amazon's reader reviews. When you want a romantic restaurant for a date or a good movie to see with your family, you ask the users of Yelp or Rotten Tomatoes for their advice.

It was only a matter of time before someone started asking: "Why should dating be any different?"

A new crop of apps and websites is popping up to close the gap between online dating and your favorite review sites. Why take your chances with date, when you could read the thoughts of other "users" first? Just think of all the trouble you could save!

Maybe you've stalked your ex's Facebook page from time to time looking for evidence of a new girlfriend or to see how much time he spends partying with his friends. Perhaps you've also gone through your Instagram pictures to try and relive those old memories of when you were together. Or maybe you've wanted all evidence of him to just disappear, but pictures and comments still keep cropping up unexpectedly when you're reading Facebook posts from your friends or updating your status.

Break-ups are hard, but getting over your ex emotionally and physically is now just one part of the equation. Thanks to Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, we also have to think about how to erase those memories from our digital history.

There are a few things you can do to be more proactive in letting go of your ex's social media presence. It just takes some tools and a lot of courage. And of course a good app to help you actually do it. (There's an app for anything, right?)

An app called Killswitch allows you to identify your ex in your lineup of Facebook friends when you download it. Instead of you doing the emotional dirty work, the app sifts through your timeline history and relevant posts and deletes them. So, mission accomplished with no regrets. (And if you happen to get back together, the app also has a reversal mechanism which saves those files in one location.)

You can also unfriend him. This will keep him out of your Facebook interactions going forward, but you still might need to clear him out of your history. Just stay clear of your timeline and delete the pictures that you've posted - delete the items you have control over.

Refrain from mentioning him online. I know it's tempting to list all of the things he said or did that were hurtful, or share with your friends what a player he was, but don't. Your ex isn't up for a public discussion/ dissection over Facebook. For one thing, this won't help you move on - it will only convince you to spend way more time thinking about him than you should.

One last helpful approach is to take a leave from Facebook for a few weeks, until you feel more centered after a break-up. While it might be difficult to stop posting or reading about your friends, keeping your Facebook account at bay will also prevent you from stalking your ex's page. If you don't want to go cold turkey, then find another social media space that he doesn't use, like Pinterest. There are plenty of options out there if you want to get distracted.

As the largest and most comprehensive national study of Americans' romantic lives, Match.com's annual 'Singles in America' report gives unprecedented access to the minds, hearts, and bedrooms of American daters. The report covers everything from the ways technology and the economy affect our dating habits, to the ways our concepts of romance and commitment have evolved over time.

This year's Singles In America report tackled the topics of sexting, long-term love, and the myths of marriage. Amongst other things, the study found:

• Sex doesn't end at the altar. 41% of married couples had sex at least once a week in 2012, and married people - of both genders - think about sex more frequently than single people do.
• Sex isn't the only thing that survives after marriage - romance does, too. More than 80% of married men and women say they would marry the same person again if they had the opportunity. 76% of men and 73% of women say they are still very much in love with their spouses.
• Marriage also continues to survive, despite many thinking it is an outdated practice. Over the last three years, singles' optimism about marriage has steadily increased (76% in 2010, 78% in 2011, 90% in 2012).
• Singles are sometimes better communicators. Single men (66%) and single women (68%) are more likely to discuss concerns around intimacy than married couples. 20% of married women say they would do nothing if they were unsatisfied with their sexual relationship, compared to only 11% of single women.
• Singles may also be more generous lovers. 97% of singles say it's more important to satisfy their partners in bed than to be satisfied themselves.
• Sex is important at any age. 30% of singles over the age of 70 and 25% of singles in their 60s say more sex would make them happier. In comparison, 28% in their 20s and 27% in their 30s say the same.
• Old traditions die hard. Nearly half (48%) of men say they want to be introduced to a date's parents before becoming exclusive. 35% of women agree that they want to meet a date's family before taking any major steps towards commitment.
• Marriage is not the end of your social life, despite what you may have heard. Singles and married people actually have considerably similar social lives: 52% of singles and 46% of married people go out 1-3 times per week. Married folks say having an independent schedule is the only thing they really miss about the single life.

For more data from the Singles In America study, click here and to find out more about the dating service that released this report you can take a look at out Match.com review.