Quickie: Original Text Is Key to Getting Attention on Dating Sites
Boost your attractiveness through your words

When you’re using online dating sites, obviously you want to put your best virtual foot forward so you can meet the type of partner you’re looking for. Otherwise, what’s the point? Standing out in a sea of other online daters can be difficult, but according to a study in PLOS ONE, originality is key.
It only makes sense: After all, research shows that when it comes to song lyrics and poetry, there is a link between originality and popularity. But does this correlation translate to dating site success? Researcher Tess van der Zanden conducted a study to find out.
To do this, van der Zanden and her colleagues asked 1,234 online daters over 50 years old to review 308 profiles and rate them based on the users’ attractiveness and personality. The researchers found that the more original study participants thought profiles were, the more likely they were to score the daters higher on attractiveness, intelligence, and sense of humor. Also, people were more likely to want a date with those who created the most original profiles.
However, if you think this means you should put the strangest things you can think of in your dating profile, think again. Researchers found that for study participants, original was not synonymous with strange, and in fact, odd profiles were not viewed as original at all.
So what did make an online dating profile original? Researchers found that what people responded most favorably to were profiles that used stylistic flourishes, such as metaphors, as well as those that included concrete personal information.
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Source:
Dating profile text perceived as more original may spark more attraction. EurekAlert. https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/967619






