In an effort to appear like the ideal mate, online daters often fib about physical, financial and social details. After reading anonymous polls taken by various dating websites, it became clear that both men and women consistently lie about the same pieces of information in their profile. Below are the most common ways in which online daters tailor themselves to fit American mass media’s notion of the perfect person. While this notion is nothing new, the stats below prove that profile fibbing is far more ubiquitous and calculated than the average dating website user would guess.
1) Height and Weight—On average, people are two inches shorter and at least five pounds heavier than they admit to online. A recent study done at Cornell University found that over 80% of the online daters lie about their age, height, or weight. While this isn’t the worst of fibs, some people (for example, short men and tall women) may be sensitive to slight embellishments that alter which person is actually taller, heavier or younger.
2) Financial Security—OKCupid found that people are 20% poorer than they claim online. Also, as people get older, they tend to exaggerate more. While the old adage says that money can’t buy you love, this stat proves that most daters believe otherwise. It’s important to keep in mind that more critical than any figure, is how the person handles their money: are they accountable, responsible and hard-working? Don’t count someone out or in based solely on a monetary amount, especially since it’s likely inaccurate.
3) Photos—In general, it is safe to assume that the more attractive the picture is, the older it is. Also, as people age, they seem to get more liberal—while the average thirty year old’s pictures may be two years old, the average sixty year old’s photos usually date back at least five years and often more.
4) Sexuality—OKCupid also found that a large portion of people that list themselves as bisexual, actually only date one sex. Straight women seem to put bisexual in their profile in order to play into male girl-on-girl or threesome fantasies. For every four women that claim to be bi, one only actually is. As for the men, it appears that many who call themselves bi in their profile are actually gay. The bi label may simply be a caution taken by those that are not “out.”
5) Smoking Habits—This fib skews female—perhaps in an effort to appear healthy, fit and demure, a large percentage of female smokers claim to be tobacco free. Ironically, men seem to care less about this habit than women think they do.
6) Interests—Unlike the above, this one skews male—perhaps in an effort to appear sensitive, romantic and intellectual, men include hobbies like poetry, and volunteering when they’re really more interested in football and beer drinking. If they’re particularly interested in one person, men may change their profile to include interests that person has. Note: this almost always backfires.
7) Relationship Status—Married people often claim to be single in order to begin an extramarital affair. And on the other end, a decent chunk of single people claim to be married in an attempt to draw people looking for some scandal and excitement in their dating life.
So, what’s the takeaway here? Don’t believe everything you read on someone’s profile. Be aware that stretching the truth is not the exception but rather the rule in the current online dating world. Always proceed with caution and give as much leeway as you’d want someone to give you. And know when creating your profile that any true relationship is built on trust, so too much amplification now could lead to feelings of deception later.
Photo via ashlepmcr
