What Men Want: Browsing Through Apps
Creating a dating profile can be a scary thing - you’re putting yourself out there to be judged. That, my friend, puts a lot of pressure on the pictures you choose.
When choosing pictures for your profile, the common mistake that is made (although entirely understandable) is to put up pictures we would want to see. However, when it comes to men and women, studies show that there’s a difference in what men and women prefer when browsing. For example, when women are browsing dating apps, the pictures that fare best for men are pictures that involve men not smiling and looking away from the camera, perhaps while holding a puppy. However, this is quite the opposite when it comes to the pictures women should share.
In Aziz Ansari’s book, Modern Love (which I highly recommend), he surveyed individuals and met with OkCupid co-founder, Christian Rudder to analyze dating profiles. According to Rudder, women tend to have more success when they are looking directly at the camera. Most of these women choose to have a straightforward smile. However, of those profiles, the 9% of women who opted to go with a more “flirting with the camera” vibe were slightly more successful. The pictures that seemed to work best were the pictures that were taken from a higher angle looking down at the woman.
The photos that did second best, Rudder noted, were pictures that included outdoor or travel photos. This is most likely because it allows the viewer to connect to the girl and get a sense of their interests. These pictures offer insight into places you may like to go, where you have traveled, or the type of everyday life you may have.
The photos that were least effective included pictures where women were posing with animals or pictures that included drinking. Drinking can be a touchy subject, and with no explanation, there is a lot of space for people to write their own narrative and make assumptions. People don’t know how frequently you’re drinking or how much you drink. However, if you’re including it in your profile, it’s easy to assume that perhaps you drink a lot. Therefore, you’re better off not including any pictures with alcohol.
It’s interesting to learn that pictures including pets were not as successful. It’s understandable that you would want to simply showcase your love for animals and that you are offering another point to find common ground. However, men don’t know where your level of obsession is with your pets. There’s no room for you to explain whether your pet is your entire life or if you simply appreciate having a companion when you come home from work. There’s nothing wrong with either answer, however you’re deterring potential matches before you have a chance to discuss the topic.
The last thing that Rudder mentioned when discussing women’s profile pictures was the fact that women who had spicier photos got more clicks. That’s right, the more cleavage women showed the more men swiped on their profile. However, it’s incredibly important to note that these profiles also had a higher rates of conversations dying off and leading to nowhere. If you’re simply looking for some extra attention or a hook-up, that’s definitely one way to go about it (more power to you!). However, if you’re on the dating apps looking for something that’s going to result in a long-term match, those spicy photos are going to attract the wrong attention and will ultimately lead to short-lived interaction.
It’s hard to showcase who you truly are in just a few pictures. Therefore, you probably won’t meet the love of your life instantly - it’s a numbers game. Just remember your profile is simply there to open the door to meet more people that you can possibly connect with. You can then discuss all the amazing intricacies that make you you.
