What's the best part of the end of the year?

Is it the holidays? Is it the time spent with friends and family? Is it the promise of a new year? Is it the resolutions?

No, it's the year-end lists. This year Match.com has compiled one of its very own: The ups & Downs of Dating Behavior of 2012 & How Celebrity Relationships Compare to U.S. Singles.

Match reports that dating was "a whirlwind" for singles this year (isn't it always?) and that finding love in 2013 is a top resolution (isn't it always?) for 64% of singles. Of course, those dating trends aren't just for your average Joe's and Jane's. How did celebrities stack up against the biggest dating trends of 2012?

Match lists the Top 12 Celebrity Shake-Ups of 2012, putting Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes in the #1 spot. No word on how they dealt with it, but to bounce back after a breakup most singles turn to friends and family (41%). Breaking it down by gender, men are more likely to go out for a drink (24%) or immerse themselves in hobbies (20%) after a split, while women console themselves with food (22%) or curl up on the couch to watch TV (22%).

Relationship recovery strategies are divided by age:

• In your 20s, you're most likely to work out, talk to your friends, or hit the bar.
• In your 30s, you're most likely to throw yourself into your work after ending a relationship.
• In your 40s and 50s, you're most likely to call friends and family or escape into your favorite TV shows to deal with a breakup.

Recovery times can also be divided by age and gender:

• 37% of men take a month or less to get over a breakup and 55% bounce back in three months or less.
• 32% of women take a year or more to recover, with 1/5 of those surveyed reporting it took 2+ years to move on.
• Singles in their 20s move on fastest, wit 62% saying it took them less than 3 months to get over a breakup. Older singles lament longer, with 30% of daters in their 50s and 60s taking more than a year to rebound.

Some exes can still be friends, and some exes can even become ex-exes:

• Men are more likely to remain friends with an ex after a breakup, while women are more likely to cut off all contact.
• Remaining friends with an ex gets easier with age.
• 50% of women and 43% of men have reconciled with an ex. Men change their mind because they miss her. Women change their mind because they're still in love.

To find out more on this dating site you can read our review which is full of information about Match.com.

It's that time of year - out with the old, in with the new!

The same goes for your dating life, and I'm not just talking about the men or women you've dated. I'm talking about your old dating habits - the ones that you would be better off without.

Sometimes it's difficult to change our behavior and attitude, or to see what we're doing wrong, but it's invaluable to our personal development and in working towards what we want. We can get stuck wanting to change the people we meet and date. But if you want real change in your dating life, then that is totally up to you.

Making a plan is essential - it's the movement, the steps we take each day, that eventually get us to our destination. And what better time to start than the new year? So get ready for 2013 by putting your dreams into action:

Join that online dating site. Are you afraid of trying online dating? Have you not had good experiences in the past? Now is the time to put all that behind you and try again. But this time, do a little homework. Instead of just joining the same old site, there are now plenty to choose from, depending on what you want. If you want to find someone religious, or someone who's a vegan, or someone who's politically active, there's a site for you. See what's out there, and try it out. Most sites offer a free introductory trial period so you can get a feel for what they are like.

Accept invitations. Do you tend to screen all your dates? Do you ignore the guy in line behind you at the coffee shop because he's not your "type?" Are you dismissive of guys who come across as nervous? If so, you could be getting in your own way. Often, we overlook opportunities right in front of us. Just because you picture meeting someone a certain way or at a certain time doesn't mean it will happen that way - be open to opportunities and accept invitations to go out. What's the harm in one date?

Adjust the attitude. If you're looking to meet the right person now and not "waste time" with the wrong ones you might want to rethink your strategy. If you cut dates short, or tell them right away that they aren't your type, you're likely coming across to your dates as insensitive, arrogant, or picky, which isn't going to help you in your pursuits. It's important to remember that all of us have weaknesses and strengths, so trying to weed out potential love interests in a hurry isn't helping you get there any faster. Instead, look at every date as an opportunity to find love. And remember that a lot of what makes two people click is intangible. Relationships take time to build. Consider each and every date an opportunity to invest in your future happiness. No time spent finding love is ever wasted.

If you're a staunch Republican or a true blue Democrat and this past election season has gotten you all fired up, are you also hurting your dating life? Some people avoid the subject of politics altogether at the beginning of a relationship, since it can make a flirtatious night turn contentious.

Politic Matchmakers, LLC has a different game plan, though. They offer two new sites for our polarized country - "Red State Date" (RedStateDate.com) and "Blue State Date" (BlueStateDate.com) - if your politics play a big role in your love life. With these sites, there's no need to avoid or pretend to tolerate the differences of political opinion between you and your date. Sounds great, right?

Well, ideally, yes. But I think a love connection goes beyond politics - and personal bonds are probably the one thing that can bring people with opposing views together. After all, you don't stop speaking to your uncle (except maybe during election season) because he's at the other end of the political spectrum. And you don't divorce your wife because she voted for a different candidate than you did in the last election.

But if you're tired of dating people who don't agree with your political point of view, and you don't want to defend yourself or get into more arguments, maybe it's time to try something a little more catered to your preferences.

Red State Date and Blue State Date not only offer databases of like-minded politicos, but also offer the latest news from your favorite conservative or liberal sources (Drudge vs. Huffington Post) so you can strike up a conversation. (But since you already share the same views about the world, I imagine you will spend a lot of your date nodding and agreeing with each other.)

While this seems like a good way to filter people who share the same values as you, it also leaves little room for all the other aspects of what attracts two people, not to mention all the people who aren't so led by political beliefs. I mean, what about the independents who share both liberal and conservative ideas that you'll miss meeting? And just because somebody shares your politics doesn't mean they feel the same way as you about relationships or anything else. What if your date is completely religious and you're an atheist? Or what if you are interested in marriage but your date prefers to keep things loose?

While political niche sites are great filters, they can also cause you to miss out on some great opportunities you have when you cast a wider net.

We have lots of online dating statistics for you today. Most of them have been compiled by comScore which is a company that measures internet traffic worldwide. This will make a nice wrap-up for the year 2012.

To start things, off did you know for the month of September 1 in 10 users on the internet visited a dating site? Well they did. For users of smartphones this statistic doubled to 2 visitors in every 10. Interestingly in quarter 2 of 2010 only 2 percent of every e-Commerce dollar was spent via a mobile device. In 2 short years this has risen to 10 percent which is 1 in every 10 dollars. I would bet that the online dating segment breaks down in a similar fashion since most dating sites have dating apps now.

Anyways, did you know visitors of online dating sites are not a fickle bunch? 26 percent of them visited more than one in a given month. Personal computers still win for quality time though with on average a user spending 80 minutes using online dating sites. This compares to mobile phone users who spent only 70 minutes. Facebook is a target rich environment for the dating site marking machine. 38 percent of all dating site ads are on Facebook. These ads reach almost half (47%) of their target users.

So what are the top ten dating site companies worldwide at the end of 2012 from comScore? Well compared to last year of the top 50 dating sites, 28 percent are new to the list! That is a lot for any industry.

• 1 - Match.com Sites
• 2 - Plenty of Fish Sites
• 3 - Zoosk.com
• 4 - Xpress.com
• 5 - Spark Networks
• 6 - eHarmony
• 7 - SpeedDate.com
• 8 - DateHookup.com
• 9 - Mate1.com
• 10 - Ashley Madison

So how do our English speaking friends overseas feel about online dating? In September of this year 5.7 million people in the United Kingdom (which has a total population of almost 63 million) visited an online dating site. This is a staggering 22 percent increase over the same time period last year. The 55 plus age group demographic led the charge with a 39 percent increase in visitors which topped 1 million unique visitors. The most active age group visiting dating sites was the 25 to 34 year olds with 1.3 million users which works out to 23 percent of all visitors. What was the most popular dating site in the UK? Why Plenty of Fish of course with almost 1.5 million visitors who spent on average for the entire month 115 minutes on POF.com.

A subject related to online dating is social networking. Worldwide for the month of November in 2012, on average a visitor spent 5.2 hours on one or more social network (excludes mobile phones). Over the past 3 months according to Alexa, Facebook came out on top followed by Twitter and then LinkedIn. In the top ten country list (see this) Argentina came out on top with an average of 9.8 hours in a month. Second went to Brazil with 9.7 hours and third was Russia with 9.6 hours. Canada came in 6th with 7.9 hours and the United States was nowhere on the list. This means in the U.S. visitors spent under 7.5 hours a month on social networking sites.

To find out more about the state of online dating in 2012 you can check out this page and view a presentation here. For more information about online dating and dating sites you can read our Statistics and Facts page.

A "catfish" is a person who creates fake online dating profiles using someone else's photos and information. The catfish may also use social media sites like Facebook and Twitter, often with the intention of making someone fall in love with them.

These elusive online tricksters were the subject of a 2010 documentary by Nev Schulman. In the film, Schulman hits the road to meet his online love for the very first time, only to discover that she's a far cry from the woman he thought he'd been getting to know. I won't spoil the film for you, but trust me: the reveal is a doozy.

Now Schulman is taking the subject a step further, with a new MTV series called "Catfish: The TV Show." Along with partner Max Joseph, Schulman is bringing online couples together to meet, face-to-face, for the very first time. As you can probably guess, the meetings don't often go as planned.

It may not have been the outcome Schulman expected, but his unique (to say the least) personal experiences have given him an inside look at online liars. This is his advice for online daters:

1. Steer clear of models. Catfish love claiming they're models, because others love claiming they've met models.
2. If you think it's too good to be true, it probably is. Intentional or not, Schulman warns, almost everyone is lying online in one way or another. Online profiles are a carefully-chosen representation of a person, not necessarily an accurate one. Always proceed with caution.
3. Get proof of identity. Ask for a photo that includes something specific, or a picture of a driver's license, or a snap of your name written on their hand. Were they able to comply with your request? Does that picture match the others you've seen?
4. Skype! Nothing gets to the truth faster than a real-time, video conversation.
5. Do a little Facebook stalking. Note: I said a little. Don't go crazy, but do take a peek at their profile. If your potential date has no photos and only a few friends, they might not be who they say they are.
6. Don't fall for the fairy tale. The ideas of soulmates and love at first sight are lovely, but they're rarely reality. Stay true to yourself, be clear on what you want, and don't get too wrapped up in the fantasy.
7. Learn how to identify fake profiles. You can find a few tips here.

Catfish: The TV Show airs on Mondays on MTV.

Online dating has more than proved itself. We know it works. Few remain who doubt the romantic possibilities that can be found online.

Now online dating is ready to move on to its next challenge: making sure that online connections translate into real world dates.

POF.com is determined that its users will be more than just profiles, and has hosted thousands of singles events to prove it.

"Instead of painstakingly perfecting our online identities," says the POF blog, "wouldn't it also make sense to go out and meet people who are on the site, looking for the same things we are?" Well, yeah...I guess it would.

"While deciding between describing yourself as "empathetic "or "compassionate" on your POF profile, is it not equally important to show someone what your strengths are in person?" Um...now that you mention it...

POF has got a point. So in 2003, the site began allowing users to host their own events. The idea quickly caught fire, and some members are still religiously hosting events (even after finding long-term love themselves!).

POF events cover just about everything, from dog walks to concerts. They've taken place all over the world, and one had more than 4000 people in attendance. In the 9 years since POF launched its events program, more than 20,000 have taken place.

Yes, you read that right: 20,000.

Now that I've got your attention, here are 5 reasons POF says you should attend a POF.com event:

1. You'll be popular. Stats show that POF members who attend an event bring 2 or 3 friends along with them, creating a massive social web and the increased romantic possibilities that come along with it. No matching algorithm, no matter how technologically advanced, can beat feeling that spark with a friend-of-a-friend-of-a-friend.
2. You can put a face to a username. No matter how cute, sexy, or funny someone's username is, there's always a chance they'll be cuter/sexier/funnier in person. POF events help you meet your online interests sooner, meaning you can get to the good part faster.
3. On the other hand, you don't have to fall in love at all. Just because you've met doesn't mean you have to date. POF events are an equally good opportunity to meet new friends in your area and expand your social circle.
4. It's an excuse to get off the couch. The Jersey Shore reruns can wait. Take of the pajamas, crawl off the couch, and get out the door. Even if you don't meet your next date, have some fun, cut loose, and get to know someone new.
5. You'll be in the know. POF events are the perfect place to get the scoop on the latest hotspots in your area. And once you get the dirt, you'll know exactly where to take your next POF date.

To find out more about this popular dating site why don't you check out our review.