Ever thought about the consumer behavior around dating sites and personal ads? Having never used one myself I am drawing off of my admittedly limited knowledge based on people (who will remain anonymous) that I know who have used them as well as stories I have heard. Oh, and I have read through the personal ads to find the funny ones, so there is that "experience" also. (and we all know that sometimes it can be QUITE the experience, there are some weird ones out there!)
How would you go about marketing yourself to an unknown future mate? Are you honest? Do you fudge the facts? Current picture or the one from 10 pounds ago? What all do you say? Do you list all of your features? Do you include all of your quirks? What level of mystery do you keep? What do you say you are looking for? What if you say something wrong and potential Mr./Mrs. Right never sees your profile? Do you know check things that aren't necessarily true but broaden your scope? Which site do you choose?
I find the whole online dating phenomena quite interesting. I have heard tremendous success stories where people were actually able to find that person in life who adds to their happiness and truly loves them. I have also heard horror stories of the fakes/frauds/loonies that people get hooked up with. (and then what does that say about you? hehe)
Then you start looking through profiles. Is he/she being honest? How do I know?? They want to meet!! Should I? Do I message them? Hope they message me?
What are your thoughts on the world of online dating?
I don't think you should ever lie about yourself if you have any plans of an ongoing relationship, however; I do see the benefit of omitting some of the the facts. This really is no different then having a physical date: guy takes a girl to a fancy restaurant (even though he can't afford it) to give the impression of wealth.
ReplyDeleteInteresting point about the games that we play in dating no matter if it is online or in person. We do obviously try to present the best possible image of ourselves to the other individual in order to attempt to win them over.
DeleteThis is actually an active line of CB research -- how modern/post-modern western norms now encourage people to market themselves!
ReplyDelete