Meeting someone is only half the battle.

The story doesn't end when you find the magic profile that catches your eye. And let's be honest, the next part is just as confusing - if not more confusing - than the first part. A whole new set of questions arises the moment you decide to get more serious.

Should you have sex before marriage? Will your friends and family like your partner? Do their opinions even matter? And what makes a relationship last?

The State Of Dating In America report from ChristianMingle and JDate has the answers.

When asked "Would you have sex before marriage?"...

• More than half of all singles say they would have sex before marriage without conditions.
• Men are more likely to say they're comfortable with it.
• Only 15% of singles say they would not have sex at all before marriage.
• Younger singles are more likely to feel they need to be in love in order to have sex before marriage.
• Singles in the 35- to 44-year-old range are least likely to feel that commitment is a prerequisite to sex.

The responses to "How much influence do the following individuals have on whom you date?" reveal that...

• "Friends" and "Mother" are the most popular dating consultants for singles.
• "Father" and "Siblings" are the next most popular.
• "Pets" have a greater influence than "Other family!"
• Men tend to turn to their mothers first, then their friends. Women tend to turn to their friends first, then their mothers.
• Singles ages 18-34 are far more likely to let immediate family and friends influence who they date.

And when it comes to marriage...

• Mothers have the greatest influence on who 18- to 24-year-olds will marry, followed by fathers and friends.
• Overall, singles ages 45-59 are least likely to let outside forces influence who they will marry.

Believe it or not, there are no significant differences between men and women when it comes to the most important factors in a lasting commitment. Both agree that the keys to a successful relationship are:

• Partner's family treats me well (92%)
• Similar views on pets (89%)
• Likes same activities (85%)
• Similar political views (84%)
• Similar views on smoking (84%)
• Similar social habits (82%)
• Same race/ethnicity (79%)
• Same level of cleanliness (78%)
• Same level of physical activity (74%)
• Good sexual chemistry (72%)

Would anyone have guessed that pets have a greater influence over long-term relationships than good sex?!

You try to be aloof. You try to act confident, mysterious, and detached. Online dating? It's no big deal. Who cares what people say they're looking for? You're not going to worry about it. You're just going to be yourself, and the date offers will roll in.

But secretly (ok, not so secretly), you're dying to know what potential dates are looking for. You're desperate to figure out exactly how to present yourself in your profile to attract the kind of people you're attracted to. Don't worry - you're not alone, and the State Of Dating In America report has a few answers to offer.

ChristianMingle and JDate asked "What do you find most attractive about the opposite sex?" and their users answered. Here's what they had to say...

For men:

• Sense of humor: 19%
• Physical appearance: 33%
• Intelligence: 16%
• Confidence: 12%
• Integrity: 12%
• Professional success: <3%
• Domestic skills: 5%
• Financial success: negligible

For women:

• Sense of humor: 24%
• Physical appearance: 21%
• Intelligence: 16%
• Confidence: 15%
• Integrity: 16%
• Professional success: 3%
• Domestic skills: <5%
• Financial success: negligible

Men and women may disagree about what the most attractive trait in a date is, but they don't disagree when it comes to another important characteristic. Both say that the most important characteristic in someone they did is shared interest. Women believe the next most important characteristics are someone who is funny, someone who is attractive, someone who is successful, and someone who is smart. Men rank the characteristics similarly, but give appearances more weight than women.

The sexes are not only clear on what they want in a mate, they're also clear on what they don't want.

Men say the worst traits in a mate are:

• Greed: 30%
• Sloth: 20%
• Gluttony: 15%
• Pride & Envy: tied at 11%
• Wrath: 9%
• Lust: 5%

Women say the seven deadly sins of dating are:

• Greed: 34%
• Wrath: 17%
• Sloth: 13%
• Pride: 12%
• Gluttony: 10%
• Lust: 8%
• Envy: 6%

Even though men and women agree on many things, they still remain a mystery to each other in many ways. They are both thoroughly puzzled by the opposite sex's feelings on commitment, and confused about matters like their taste in "hot" men or women, how they spend their money, their eating and personal grooming habits, and the way they interact with their friends.

For more information about the dating sites which provided this data you can review our ChristianMingle.com and JDate.com reviews.

"Are You Interested?" has a history of being on the cutting edge of innovation in the online dating industry. It was one of the first dating applications to launch on Facebook in 2007, and now has announced the arrival of several new social features designed to bring online dating and social networking together.

The updated AYI features include:

• The ability to view mutual friends when looking for potential dates
• The ability to search for singles through your friends
• The option to search for singles with mutual or related interests

AYI hopes the new tools will make it easier for singles to connect online. As online dating shifts increasingly towards a "social dating" model, AYI's transition puts the site at the forefront of the movement.

What makes it especially unique is the influence AYI already had on the market: the service already claimed millions of Facebook users with Facebook-connected profiles, who were regularly active before the launch of the new features.

Facebook integration benefits users by creating a more robust experience and generating a significantly larger number of search results. Facebook-connected singles, who represent the majority of AYI users, have a greater chance of meaningful connections because shared interests and friends can be taken into account in the matching process.

SNAP Interactive, owner of AYI, CEO Clifford Lerner says, "AYI has always been a progressive and innovative dating site and we believe these social feature launches really raise the bar in the dating space. Historically, there has been a large disconnect between the way singles meet online versus in the real world. Offline, singles commonly meet through friends and interests. That same experience really hasn't been possible online - until now."

The goal for AYI, like many online dating services, is to revamp the industry so it more accurately replicates the way singles meet in real life. "Our deep integration into Facebook Platform," Lerner continues," coupled with the significant scale of our interest and social graph puts us in the unique position of being able to integrate friends and interests into online dating in a meaningful way. It also provides singles with an online dating experience that more closely mirrors the way singles traditionally meet in the real world."

AYI's new features, combined with the real-time updating of AYI user profiles using Facebook's Real-time API, shows that AYI will continue its history of innovation. With over 65 million installs on Facebook, it looks as though AYI will be a leader in the social dating scene for a long time.

A eHarmony free communication weekend (FCW) is happening right now in the U.S. and Canada. It started today and runs to 11:59pm PST on Tuesday April 16th. No credit card is required and all members can communicate with their matches for free during this 5 day event.

If you want to take eHarmony for a test drive this 5 day FCW is worth checking out. You get to create a profile, review your matches and communicate with them all for free. This allows you to try out most of eHarmony’s services for no cost and it will give you a good idea of the type of matches you will receive and how the whole online dating process works at eHarmony. This dating site calculates your highly-compatible matches based on their algorithm which has years of research invested into it. The only things not included during this event is viewing photos, skip straight to mail and Secure Call.

eHarmony’s last free communication weekend happened in March (see Story). For further facts on this dating site you can read our detailed eHarmony review. Comments and user reviews are also available from this page.

How do American singles view dating and marriage today? Have our values changed much over the years? And do they vary by age and gender?

The State Of Dating In America report is here to answer all of your questions on dating in America in 2013. Up first: What is the greatest societal threat to marriage today?

Nearly half of singles agree that infidelity is the single biggest threat to marriage today. Other pressing threats are:

• Financial problems (18%)
• Lack of family values (13%)
• Acceptance of divorce / Same sex marriage (8%)
• Other (5%)

Some love being single. Some are terrified of it. Which side do you fall on? And would you ever consider going back to an ex to not be single?

• Most people - 53% - say no.
• Women are less likely than men to avoid singlehood by getting back together with an ex.

Faith is an important part of the equation when choosing a long-term partner. How important is it for you to share the same religious background as the person you date/marry, even if their faith is not as strong or is stronger?

• Some singles say they're "Just looking for someone I like," but most take faith into consideration when evaluating a potential date.
• 16% say they would only date someone of the same faith. 19% say they would only marry a partner who shares their faith.
• In general, men are less concerned about dating or marrying someone of the same faith.

When online dating, your options are nearly endless. Dating multiple people is the quickest way to experience as many different dates as possible in order to find the one you really want. Do you believe it is acceptable to date more than one person at a time?

• Almost 2/3 of singles believe it is at least somewhat acceptable to see more than one person at a time, although their comfort levels vary.
• Non-online daters are more likely to feel that nonmonogamy is unacceptable at any time.
• Younger singles are also significantly less likely to believe it is ethical to date multiple people simultaneously.
• Singles over the age of 45 are most likely to feel that nonmonogamy is acceptable.

With all the factors that go into choosing a mate, and the incredible pressures that come along with marriage, it would certainly be simpler to stay single. But would you be disappointed if you remained single the rest of your life? The majority of 18- to 24-year-olds (62%) say they would be disappointed if they remained single for their entire lives. As singles get older, however, they tend to care less about remaining single.

If you're thin and your partner isn't, you might also encounter more problems.

A new study found that couples with mixed weights experienced more conflict than couples who were about the same weight. Mixed weight couples were identified as one partner having a healthy weight while the other partner was overweight.

Mixed weight couples expressed more anger and resentment towards their partners than same-weight couples. These feelings intensified when they ate together.

However, researchers found that these couples had less conflict when the overweight partner felt supported by the other partner in their efforts to diet and exercise.

This study reveals that communication can be an underlying issue in relationships. Most of our frustrations and resentments with our partners stem from something other than what the actual argument is about - in the case of the study - weight. When people aren't communicating well with each other, there's a lot of potential for conflict, anger, and misunderstanding to develop. Over time, this can break down a relationship.

It's important to be upfront with your partner about your feelings. But it's also important to understand you can't change someone else. Weight has become an obsession in our culture, and many people have developed unhealthy habits and unhealthy body images associated with their weight. If your partner feels bad about himself, then it's not going to be helpful if you are goading him about his weight or telling him he has to lose it to please you. Ultimately, it is about perspective and health. If you fear your partner is going to become sick because of his weight, then instead of increasing frustration levels when you talk about it together, have a doctor or health professional intervene and give you both the facts. But if it's about your preference for a certain look, then it's important to be a little more self-reflective and accept your partner for all the qualities you do love about him, outside of his weight.

Acceptance is part of relationships. If you find yourself getting increasingly frustrated with your partner, it's important to ask how you can support him. As the study showed, those who felt supported felt less conflict and anger. Offer to exercise or diet with him. Praise him for all of his accomplishments, like skipping dessert after dinner each night. There are plenty of ways to show your support.

The study was conducted by researchers at The University of Arizona and The University of Puget Sound.