Online Dating, The Given
So I’ve been using all sorts of online dating sites for more than a year now. I’ll refrain from being bitter, but I’ve yet to find true love. I have, however, found some patterns that emerge from profiles. While my research is purely observational, and could admittiantly be biased by the searches I do… here is a list of things I’ve noticed:
- Everyone hates liars. Fancy that, people want to be told the truth, but often despise you for telling it. At any rate, nearly every profile mentions it or it is mentioned very early on in communication
- Everyone wants to laugh. I remember reading paper that said laughing is a natural defense mechanism… Either way it’s fun. The only thing that varies is the type of humor.
- 80% of the people I met in RealLife(tm) lied about their age, weight and/or height. In one case, their race as well. Not that it matters, but why did they lie about it? See first point
- Cougars lurk within the system trying to trap you. Often they will do creepy stuff like use the picture of their daughter ( Sorry, your too old for me… but can I have your daughters email address?) Ya, creepy.
- The more you pay for a match making service, online dating thingy, the less matches you will get.
- Once a services start suggesting people on another continent it’s time to move on. Nothing like getting matched with people from Russia…
When it comes down to it, I’ve had more success just blatantly hitting on women and getting their numbers. At first I felt like a total jerk or something, but it turns out girls like attention. Just don’t be an ass about it. Remember, networking is your friend. Make friends with girls and maybe they can hook you up. My best matches ( and some of my worst) have been friend referrals.
