What People Love and Hate in Dating Profiles
We asked our friends (of all genders) what they love and hate seeing on dating profiles and got A TON of responses. Ever wonder what people are really looking for and what makes them roll their eyes or swipe left? Well, here you go.
What People Love
Things that came up most often: positivity and smiles, quirks and quirkiness, and good spelling.
I love people that are honest about being imperfect, messy people like: "I'm awkward and a little neurotic but I can cook!"
I loved seeing proper spelling, book lists, snark, and positivity!
“Don’t just claim you have a good sense of humor, prove it by having one in you profile.”
Answering questions and filling out sections in a non-snarky way. (No one thinks you're funny if you put air and water in the list of things you could never do without.) Openness to new experiences and tangible interest in life. ... also a good beard.
Image by Loren Kerns
“I love pictures of people in goofy costumes.”
I love when someone admits being nerdy or weird. Or when he is honest to a fault, listing anything that you know will lessen his chances but he's being real about who he is and what he's looking for, even if he's saying, "I only like blondes" or "looking for athletic types only." That's admirable to me. It saves everyone time and energy.
I like signs that a person is compassionate like saying that they volunteer or are going into social work.
What People Hate
What came up over and over: seeing shallow or judgmental, being vague or cliché.
“My biggest pet peeve is the line, “I love to have fun.” Really? I hate to have fun. Duh.”
Any reference to 'playing games' or 'drama' or 'karma' drive me nuts. I hate the pic filters too.
'Genuine' 'authentic' 'real' 'honest' 'down-to-earth' etc. As a modifier, fine; as a self-descriptor, SO BORING. Also when their booklist only includes Nabakov, Palahniuk, Bukowski, Zizek, and/or Vonnegut. I can appreciate some/most of those authors, but if those are the only books you're willing to claim you've read, I don't trust you :/ also any variation on 'Message me if you want to/if you like me because I can't see who likes me/if you want to break gender stereotypes/because I'm really shy and I probably won't message you first.' Boring, and also indicating that you're maybe not willing to put in enough work to keep up with me.
“I hate euphemisms like “fit” or “height weight proportionate” as euphemism for thin. ”
"Ask me anything, I'm an open book. (That means this person has few conversation skills, lacks the ability to come up with an interesting question to ask you, and you will end up forever being his interviewer.)"
“I hate when their pictures don’t show their eyes. Give me at least one picture without sunglasses.”
