Online Dating Pet Peeves
Posted in Dating on Jan 3rd, 2012
As much fun as it can be, online dating certainly has its share of aggravations and annoyances. Most of these common irritating events will happen to everyone at some point during their online dating experience. It can be helpful to know you are not alone in your grievances, and it can also help to know what irritates other daters so that you can avoid engaging in that behavior.
Dumb profile pictures are at the top of the list. No matter how many dating advice columns are written, it seems some men just will not stop taking shirtless pictures in their bathroom mirrors, and some women just will not stop with the “duckface” expression.
Poor communication is also very irritating. While the under- 22 crowd may not mind slang and text-speak, pretty much everyone else would like to read a complete sentence or two at some point.
Men commonly complain that women talk and talk, but never want to go on a real date. Women often complain that men want to jump into dating too soon. It is helpful to remember that women see the email process as a way to get to know a man, and talking is part of the attraction process for her. It is also scary for some women to meet a stranger from the internet without feeling very comfortable with him first. Women should also realize that men really just want to test the chemistry, and need to do that in person. All the talking and emailing seems like a lot of effort to him, if there is no promise of seeing the woman in person soon. Both sexes need to make some compromises here.
Both men and women report that they receive dozens of emails from people who are the complete opposite of what they are looking for. Most of this is due to a lack of “looking for” information on dating profiles – or a lack of actually reading it.
Most online daters say that they can’t find the type of person they seek, no matter how many profiles they read. This is very frustrating, and can be due to an unrealistic idea of the perfect mate, using search features that are too narrow, or simply being on the wrong site.
Liars are another common problem on dating sites. It seems counter-intuitive to lie about your age, weight, or lifestyle in an effort to attract someone who is looking for the opposite of what you are, but it is something many people do nonetheless. Honesty is the best policy when trying to attract someone who will love the real you.
Men often say that women’s profiles are too long and complicated, while women complain that men hardly write anything at all in their profiles. This is an example of each sex doing the things that would attract them, rather than the things that would attract the opposite sex. Most men need to put in a little more thought when writing their profiles, and most women need to trim theirs down.
If you are making any of the above online dating blunders, it is not too late to change your strategy to become more successful. In general, the key is to understand your audience, and do the things that will attract the opposite sex, rather than what you think should attract them.
