"I only date perfect profiles... I mean people."
As I mentioned in my post on how to write a good online dating profile, the written word is a finicky thing. With the written word being the main medium through which we communicate online, this leads to lots of interesting material. Click here for my guide on writing your online dating profile.
And now to figure out what people mean by what they put in their profiles! Here are a couple examples of how to decipher a potential match’s profile. It’s really quite obvious, I must say.
The photograph
No picture means…
- They don’t know how to use modern technology and didn’t notice where it says you can mail a picture in to the site.
- They think they are too ugly to have their picture up on the site.
- They think they’re too beautiful to have their picture up on the site. They are convinced that a photo will cloud people’s judgement.
- They aren’t photogenic.
A full body shot means…
- I’m comfortable with you seeing the full me.
- I’m uncomfortable with you seeing a close-up of my face.
- I couldn’t find any other normal photos.
- I’m not photogenic so the further away, the better.
- I dunno… I just grabbed the first picture I found. I don’t even know what I’m doing on this site.
Character traits
Girl #1: Funny, sensitive and romantic.
Girl #2: High-strung, depressed and ADHD.
Hmmm… Who do I prefer? Lets see…
Girl #1 is one of the following options:
- Self-aware and honest with very positive character traits. Quite a catch!
- Stuck-up and unaware of how she really comes across in social settings.
- Funny, sensitive and romantic.
- Got her closest friend to fill in this part of the profile because she felt uncomfortable talking about herself.
Girl #2 is one of the following options:
- Self-aware but too honest. Though at least she’s honest!
- Unable to say anything good about herself – a perfect specimen to fix, if that’s what you’re looking for.
- High-strung, depressed and ADHD.
- Got her closest friend to choose for her – time to find new friends, don’t you think?
We sure learn a lot from people’s profiles, don’t we? In case you still haven’t read my guide to creating a good online dating profile here are a couple (other) things to keep in mind:
- Add photos! More than one is better and close ups of the face make more sense.
- Get a friend’s help.
- Check your spelling and grammar! (Secret: I’m a creative speller. I LOVE spell check.)
- Be freakin’ honest.
Photo by striatic on flickr.
Online dating is a double edged sword. I’d like to know why every other girl on JDate writes something like “I’m just as confortable going out on the town, as staying in and watching a movie” or something like that. Is there some sort of JDate computer driven content generator that makes women write a variation of that in their profiles.
Also what does “I’m up to try anything once” mean? I’ve always wondered. I want to keep my mind out of the gutter, but the gutter is a natural place after reading such a sentence.
So true but just so you know all those things are not just girl things, they’re typical online profile things. Guys also write them. It is weird that these are the things that become accepted to say in your profile!