EHarmony Dating Survey: Half Of Men And Women Online Stalk Their Dates (INFOGRAPHIC)

What 50 Percent Of Men And Women Do Before A Date

It's hard to date without receiving some sort of unsolicited advice about "playing games." Serani croons about how he doesn't want to play them, the women behind "The Rules" say that you definitely should and your friends may give you any number of convoluted suggestions. But what do singles actually do -- or want to do -- when they're starting to date someone? A new survey conducted by dating site eHarmony may provide an answer.

eHarmony polled over 2,000 men and women about their dating preferences and behaviors. Here are four of the most interesting (though not altogether surprising) findings: (Scroll down to see an infographic of the full results.)

1. The "Three-Day Rule" Isn't Really A Rule At All
It's unclear where this whole "wait three days to call back" thing started, but it doesn't really matter since no one seems to be following it anyway. 71 percent of men and 73 percent of women surveyed said that waiting that long to call someone back is "ridiculous." Plus, doesn't everyone just text these days anyway?

2. Lots Of People Stalk Dates Online Before Going Out With Them
Nearly half of men and women surveyed admitted to looking up potential dates online before going out with them (43 percent of men and 54 percent of women). It's certainly easy enough -- a quick Google search will likely yield a love interest's Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts. The desire to avoid dates with sociopaths is probably partially behind the stalking rate, but a recent study suggested that boredom also plays a huge role. What's more interesting than scoping out a potential love interest? Not much.

3. People Text More, But They Prefer A Phone Call
Over 75 percent of men and women admitted that they preferred voice-to-voice phone contact over a text. A July survey found that 25 percent of adults don't even know their own numbers, so getting someone to call might be a challenge.

4. People Aren't Self-Conscious About Making Same-Day Plans
The overwhelming majority of people surveyed said that they didn't feel the need to delay seeing someone if they were available right away. Eighty-nine percent of men and 77 percent of women would be willing to go on a date within a few hours of being contacted and not worry about how their lack of plans looked to the other person.

LOOK: eHarmony's "2012 Dating Games" Survey Infographic
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