You find yourself rather shy about meeting people in real life and decide to join a dating site. The possibilities for finding love are endless and only a few mouse clicks away.
But wait! The possibilities are very much limited if you make some of these common, cringe-worthy mistakes. Don’t say you weren’t warned:
- You’re photographed with your kids. You may think you’re scoring “oh, how cute, he loves children” points, but in reality, we see how little you care to protect the anonymity of your prized possessions. You can praise them to high Heaven, but for Heaven’s sake– keep them out of your pictures!
- You’re not in your profile picture. Unless you are that dog, truck, motorcycle or beer bottle, don’t use objects or pets as your main image. Really, do we have to say this? Most lookers online are interested in dating a person, not a flashy car or dog you think will impress your prospects.
- You don’t have a clear picture of yourself. We shouldn’t have to strain our eyes or tilt our heads to see how you look, so be considerate. We’re tired enough from browsing all the other profiles that led up to yours.
- You bring up your exes. If you say just one reference to your ex– good or bad– it screams of rebound material. Your prospects are looking for a fresh, new start with someone and an extra person in your thoughts will crowd your date.
- You gush about how successful you are. Really, we get it. You’ve done well so far– good for you! But boasting about your accomplishments will come off as a resume you’re submitting for a new job. Let your date find out about the wonderful surprise when you meet and need a subject to talk about.
- Your picture is false advertising. Okay, so this would be cringe-worthy only when meeting someone for the first time. Look, if you agree to meet with someone, they’re going to find out you’re actually ten years older and fifty pounds heavier than the outdated pic. Spare them the shock effect and post an honest (current) picture of how you look.
- You’re photographed with people of the opposite sex. Hot party poolside in Vegas? Got jiggy with the chicks in the jacuzzi? We don’t need to see the visual of you seeing “other” people. You don’t look sexy– you look cheap like the over-sized margaritas they sell at those hotels.
- You have nothing to say about yourself. Don’t be lazy and say, “I’ll fill this out later” or use mystery language like, “I’ll tell you all about me when we meet.” No, creep, we want to know about you before we meet, just in case you’re some nut job. Either you’re too boring, lazy or hiding something when you can’t share a little about yourself. *Cringe*
- You look like the feature suspect on a “Most Wanted” list. If you’re hesitant to reveal your true identity, you can choose to stay off online dating. But wearing the baseball hat and hiding behind sunglasses will make you look like you’re not only hiding what you look like, but something more sinister underneath.
- Your English skills would fail Kindergarten. You don’t need to be a poet or William Shakespeare’s prodigy, but learn how to put sentences together. And that doesn’t include “text-glish.” If we see “ppl” for people or “u” for you (or lowercase “i” ) throughout your writing, we’ll assume you’re either in fourth grade, or you never passed English beyond that grade.
It’s not too late to edit your profile if you’ve been caught committing these fatal flaws of dating sites. Now go back and fix them, or find someone who can help you perfect your profile. Even a quick photo from a friend is better than the one you take yourself in the bathroom mirror or while you drive your car.
