4 Oneline Dating Photos Myths Busted!
Hoping to get noticed on online dating sites?
An online matchmaker survey shows why smiling for men is not as attractive as it may seem, and why women with cellphone shots interest more contacts.
Okcupid examines the profile of its members (18-32 years old & living in big cities) and sort out those who make more contacts based on their profile pics - facial attitude (whether the person is smiling or not); context of photo (whether the image was taken outdoors or in a bedroom); and how much skin is bared. Just to examine the photo and not the attractiveness of the person, the data exclude the most and least attractive photos.
The result busts out four myths of online dating photos:
1. Smiling
Smiling in photo attracts people, but not if you're a guy. Men who are looking away from the camera and not smiling get more messages from possible dates.
"If you're looking straight at a camera for a male, that can be intimidating to a woman. But if someone is looking off past you that can, in many ways, be less threatening and more approachable."
Smiling is not a turn-off for the women though. But the result also suggested that women should look straight at the camera with a pouty-face smile for a more flirty look.
2. Cellphone and Webcam Shots
Of course, self-shot photos have low-end resolutions. The blurry pic sometimes reflect boredom and creepiness.
Interestingly though, cellphone and webcam photos attract more date contacts both for men and women (more if cleavage is shown at that angle). What do self-shot photos possessed? Authenticity.
"There's a level of intimacy and honesty in a shelf-shot photo. It has a sense of 'hot off the presses, this is me in real time, unadulterated, not prettied up.' And there's something very spontaneous about it."
3. Shirts On!
Abs shots actually interest women - but beware of the bias. Only guys with six-packs abs are worthy to take their shirts off in photos. In fact, these guys with fit bodies get more date messages if they show their muscled upper body than if they hide it underneath the shirt. Also young men in their early 20s make more date contacts with their shirts off than those in their 30s.
The female equivalent for abs is the cleavage. Women who show their cleavage on photos are more sought-after than those who do not. But unlike men, this advantage went up with age. Although women generally get fewer new messages as they age, "a 32-year-old woman showing her body received one fewer message than the equivalent 18 year-old, but an 'older woman' showing no cleavage got 4 fewer messages compared with a young gal."
Essentially, show your best asset!
4. Show Your Face
Despite that the dating site encourages its members to upload photos that show their faces, the study suggests that face has no impact on the number of messages received by a member. In fact, faceless photos attract more date contacts especially if they are unusual, mysterious or otherwise alluring.
An online matchmaker survey shows why smiling for men is not as attractive as it may seem, and why women with cellphone shots interest more contacts.
Okcupid examines the profile of its members (18-32 years old & living in big cities) and sort out those who make more contacts based on their profile pics - facial attitude (whether the person is smiling or not); context of photo (whether the image was taken outdoors or in a bedroom); and how much skin is bared. Just to examine the photo and not the attractiveness of the person, the data exclude the most and least attractive photos.
The result busts out four myths of online dating photos:
1. Smiling
Smiling in photo attracts people, but not if you're a guy. Men who are looking away from the camera and not smiling get more messages from possible dates.
"If you're looking straight at a camera for a male, that can be intimidating to a woman. But if someone is looking off past you that can, in many ways, be less threatening and more approachable."
Smiling is not a turn-off for the women though. But the result also suggested that women should look straight at the camera with a pouty-face smile for a more flirty look.
2. Cellphone and Webcam Shots
Of course, self-shot photos have low-end resolutions. The blurry pic sometimes reflect boredom and creepiness.
Interestingly though, cellphone and webcam photos attract more date contacts both for men and women (more if cleavage is shown at that angle). What do self-shot photos possessed? Authenticity.
"There's a level of intimacy and honesty in a shelf-shot photo. It has a sense of 'hot off the presses, this is me in real time, unadulterated, not prettied up.' And there's something very spontaneous about it."
3. Shirts On!
Abs shots actually interest women - but beware of the bias. Only guys with six-packs abs are worthy to take their shirts off in photos. In fact, these guys with fit bodies get more date messages if they show their muscled upper body than if they hide it underneath the shirt. Also young men in their early 20s make more date contacts with their shirts off than those in their 30s.
The female equivalent for abs is the cleavage. Women who show their cleavage on photos are more sought-after than those who do not. But unlike men, this advantage went up with age. Although women generally get fewer new messages as they age, "a 32-year-old woman showing her body received one fewer message than the equivalent 18 year-old, but an 'older woman' showing no cleavage got 4 fewer messages compared with a young gal."
Essentially, show your best asset!
4. Show Your Face
Despite that the dating site encourages its members to upload photos that show their faces, the study suggests that face has no impact on the number of messages received by a member. In fact, faceless photos attract more date contacts especially if they are unusual, mysterious or otherwise alluring.
Labels: Beauty, dating, photos, virtual dating
posted by Maggie's Nest at
2/16/2010
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