First dates can quickly turn in to last dates if you blunder in to one of the three tender traps that can ruin the best of relationships in less than a minute.

Just bear in mind these three ‘P’s – punctuality, phone etiquette and politeness and you may just find you both enjoy yourselves.

The importance of being earnest

You have first date cold feet and don’t know whether to go or not. Stop acting dippy and go. Remember the effort you had to put to enlisting on the dating site and finding him or her, and don’t forget they have had to go through the same to find you.

Unless you have good reason to believe they are psycho, a bunny boiler or worse, do everything in your power to keep the first date and arrive on time.

Not going sends out the message that the other person is not that important to you. If you do get on, setting up a second date may not be easy if you’ve blown someone off already.

Switch off your life support

Ever been in a deep, meaningful conversation with a friend when their mobile goes off? Instant reaction is to grab the gizmo and see who has called.

Mobile phones are so intrusive and make people so impolite that I refuse to have one.

If you are out for a candlelit dinner and your partner answers their phone then why are they with you in the first place? OK, if they are a doctor or some other action hero lifesaver like a fireman or midwife, I can see they might get called; otherwise it’s just rude.

First dates are for getting to know each other. Discuss.

Discuss is the key word here and it is not a synonym for inquisition. Conversation taboos on first dates include ex’s, medical and bodily functions, money, personal recreational drug use and previous convictions are best reserved for when you know each other a little better.

If you are asked uncomfortable questions or the conversation heads down a road you don’t want to travel, then politely push the chat back in to the neutral zone.

If he or she is playing Ernie to your Eric, resist the temptation for the stinging one-liner and go for a compliment instead.

More frisky fifties have found fun and romance on the Internet than any other age group, according to a study.

Out of 2,000 men and women of all backgrounds and ages, the over 55’s were revealed as the age group who have met more partners at an online dating site, attended more matchmaking clubs and singles events than any other group.

The surveys, by YouGov for the Telegraph magazine Stella, also showed about six out of 10 (62%) of men and women over 55 belong to at least one online dating site like Love Generation.

Dating myths dispelled

The survey dispels a lot of Internet and dating myths – for instance:

The 45-54 and Over 55 age groups found more sexual partners on the net than younger singles looking for love – with each group bedding at least two partners in the year.

The over 55s are also more forward than any other group by setting up more than 8 dates a year from chats on the internet.

So the truth is that if you are well in to your 50’s or even retired and are finding love and romance from online dating services, then you are not alone as thousands of other mature folk seem to be switching on to romance with their computers.

More than half of men are seeking sex

Men and women in equal numbers are searching online for long-term relationships (68%), sex (56%), to socialise (39%) and companionship (44%).

About 47% of people polled agreed online dating was a great way to meet new people but about half considered many of the people they came across were ‘strange’. Unhelpfully, ‘Strange’ was not defined.

When asked about whether they lie on profiles, the same small number of men and women agreed they fibbed a little about their age, height, weight, their jobs, relationship, and parental status.

Most popular first dates for Internet friends who meet are evening drinks or a meal – and the man pays for 90% of dates.

More men have their hair done and buy a new outfit for the first date (50%) than women  (31% and 16%). Strangely, A lot of men varnish their nails as well (25%) compared with women (40%).