Mental Health

1 in 5 Online Daters Are "Unrecognizable" in Person

By Christine Hsu | Update Date: Jun 06, 2014 09:15 PM EDT

Match.com, eHarmony and Tinder users beware! We've all heard horror stories of online matches looking older, fatter, balder, shorter or plain hideous in the flesh. However, a new survey found that more than a fifth of people who use online dating sites are "unrecognizable" and look nothing like their profile pictures, according to their potential- and very disappointed- suitors.

In fact, one in three online daters report being sorely disappointed when they finally meet their date in person, and 21 percent of online daters even describe their matches as "unrecognizable" in the flesh.

While nothing can be worse than feeling tricked into meeting a significantly more ghastly version of what you thought would be the love of your life, the UK survey revealed that 48 percent of respondents who admit picking their online dates purely on looks are courteous enough to be polite and suffer a night of dread and awkwardness.

While it's a shame that most online daters are disappointed with reality, researchers said that the findings aren't so surprising. The latest research revealed that one in four respondents report picking profile pictures that are over half-a-decade-old.

The survey also revealed that women admit needing as least five attempts before achieving a satisfactory 'natural' or '#nofilter' selfie acceptable enough to use on dating sites or other sites like Facebook or Instagram. Alas, women's meticulous methods of looking more beautiful on cyberspace may actually be a huge waste of time as the latest findings revealed that 67 percent of men are turned off by selfies and are less likely to contact ladies who post them.

In fact, 87 percent of people report to have gone as far as blocking or un-friending social media friends who post never-ending selfies.

The good news is that most people still care about personality. The latest survey sponsored by LoveFlutter, revealed that 56 percent of respondents would rather be complimented on their personality than on their physical attractiveness.

"Dating has been trivialized by apps that focus too much on looks and too little on essential human qualities. Wit and personality can be sexier than looks and unlike looks determines long-term compatibility," said Dr. Tomas Chamorro-Premuzic, a professor of business psychology at the University College London, according to the Daily Mail.

"With the obsession of the selfie and digital narcissism, more and more focus is being placed on looks alone," added Psychologist Dr. Andrea Kallias, according to the Daily Mail. "We all want an attractive partner, of course, but what we need is someone who is psychologically compatible."

© 2023 Counsel & Heal All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.

Join the Conversation

Real Time Analytics