With so many profiles of singles available at your fingertips, online dating can sometimes feel like being a kid unleashed in a sweet shop. But for all the choice you face anytime you log into a site like QuickFlirt.com to check your account, what you are undertaking is no different to the traditional dating model. The whole point is you are still seeking a ‘connection.' It's a bit like those prospectors during the days of the 1849 gold rush – you might have to sift through a lot of uninteresting content, but your ultimate goal is to uncover a relationship nugget!

What happens if you do click with a vibrant individual, whose online banter and flirting you gleefully anticipate, only to get the impression things have cooled since those heady introductions? Offline or online, when the wheels come off a relationship, it's often best to accept the fact. Here are five signs to lookout for that indicate the time has come to move on.

You have different aspirations

People join dating sites for all sorts of reasons. Some are content to get involved in casual relationships while others are seeking something far more meaningful and fulfilling. In the early stages of any connection, differences in how you see your future may seem as if they can be surmounted. But it could gradually become apparent your longer term aspirations are irreconcilable.

Lack of involvement

For all that communicating online might seem much more flippant than the offline version, it actually means just as much. In fact, the discreet environment offered by these sites allows individuals to be much more open about their innermost feelings, in a shorter period of time. You will very quickly get a sense that your commitment is not being reciprocated by the person at the other end.

Lack of intimacy

Online partnerships rely on sexual chemistry. How effectively this unfolds as you get to know each other better can be an indicator of how much you are bonding as a couple. As you exchange more and more messages, the degree of flirting will increase. However, you should worry if your passion and suggestive remarks are met with one-word answers or emojis.

Trustworthiness

An online relationship relies on just as much trust as the more conventional type. You should feel as if you can discuss matters with your virtual partner in an open and proactive way. Since the ultimate aim of a dating site is for you to feel comfortable enough to suggest an eventual face-to-face meeting, it makes sense that you get to know all about the person's character treats. But if they are being less than honest, revealing inconsistencies or telling downright lies, they clearly don't share your intensity of feelings.

Under control?

When you chat on the dating site, do you always feel relaxed? Does conversation flow in an amicable way? Or do you get the sense you are being manipulated? Are they overly aggressive at times? Do they make demands about when it would be appropriate to chat with them, and when not?

It is sometimes difficult to determine if the person you have connected with is actually a control freak because they will disguise the fact using subtle methods. But there is nothing worse than having to deal with this sort of situation when you aren't actually with them. Negative behavior is so much easy to conceal online.

If you do feel you are being placed in a situation you no longer feel comfortable in, you really should broach the subject. If they still use the classic ploy of denying everything, move on.