These are the best ways to improve your online dating profile, according to science
AP Images/Mike Harrington
Online dating can be empowering, with thousands of potential dating partners just a few clicks away. But it can also be daunting, leaving you feeling overwhelmed by the choices and underwhelmed with the process.
More than 20% of 25- to 34-year-olds have used online dating, and more than a third of recently married couples in the US met online.
Dating online gives you access to a much larger pool of potential romantic partners than meeting people through conventional methods, and it gives you a peek at your compatibility before you commit to a date too.
With that in mind, we've scoured the research for the best ways to improve your odds of finding someone special. Here are a few tips to help boost your online dating game:
Choose a good photo.
Tinder"Offline, physical characteristics play a critical role in attractions for both men and women," researchers wrote in a 2008 study. Not surprisingly,the same is true online.
For their study, researchers surveyed 30 men and 30 women about their online dating experiences, and found that having a good photo was more important than any other aspect of their profile.
If you're not using your real name, pick a strategic username or handle.
FlickrCC/Martin AbegglenIf you're not pulling info direclty from Facebook, the username or handle you select can make a big difference in how potential partners perceive you online.
Research suggests straight men are more attracted to women whose usernames suggest physical attractiveness (such as "Blondie" or "Cutie"), whereas straight women are more attracted to men whose usernames suggest intelligence (such as "Cultured").
Alphabetical order matters too. Some research suggests that names in higher in the alphabet may be linked with measures of success such as education level or income, and these names are also likely to show up higher in search results.
Make eye contact, and smile!
Nicola Albertini/FlickrWired asked the dating site OkCupid for photos of 400 of the highest-rated profiles in 10 major US cities, and the results were intriguing.
They found that over 80% of users with the hottest ranked profiles had strong eye contact. Moreover, 54% were smiling with teeth, compard to 23% who weren't smiling and 13% who were smiling without teeth. And skip the duck face, ladies — only 6% of the hottest profiles had a pic of one.
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