love hestory: Love hestore

hough online dating is big business, it has certainly been viewed as a stigmatized activity. When I was a younger, single man navigating the dating market the idea of being 21 on a dating site was unheard of. In fact, it was a sign of desperation or, potentially, an indication that one was undateable (this was also 2003). Though times have changed, and this is clearly not the current view.
The Pew Research Group provides telling data about online dating habits. They report that “One in every ten American adults has used an online dating site or a mobile dating app.” They further explain: “online dating is most common among Americans in their mid-20’s through mid-40’s. Some 22% of 25-34 year olds and 17% of 35-44 year olds are online daters.”
Though online dating appears popular in adulthood, clearly it resonates with younger populations. This is evident as a Tinder reference utilizing a popular music group was the basis of anti-smoking campaign.
Given that we use our phones for many things, it’s no surprise we also turn to them for assistance in mate selection. And, these online dating efforts are productive. As Pew explained: “66% of online daters have gone on a date with someone they met through a dating site or app, and 23% of online daters say they have met a spouse or long term relationship through these sites.”
One of the concerns regarding online dating, though, is deception. Individuals can lie in different ways: about their salary, their relationship history, and even their current relationship status (perhaps the person you’re talking to is married). Still, another manner is through their online dating photograph.
To better understand how honest or deceptive individuals were with their online dating photographs, Hanock and Toma (2009) compared individuals’ online dating photographs to their actual appearance. To accomplish this, they had participants come to a research lab. Upon arriving at the lab, they: 1. had participants print out their online dating profile photograph, and 2. had researchers take photographs of the online dater as they appeared in that moment. Following those photos, they used a research team to compare the online dating photograph to the actual photograph taken that day. Hancock and Toma provide a detailed summary of their findings, and I offer a few of those findings below:
*The average age of participants’ online dating photos was 21 months (how did you look two years ago?)
*Individuals described their own online dating photographs to be accurate representations of how they looked. Still, researchers described “1/3 of the photographs as not accurate.”
*Independent judges, comparing the two photos, rated participants’ online dating photos as less accurate (compared to participants’ own reports of accuracy).
*Women’s profile photos contained a larger number of discrepancies compared to men’s photos.
*A variety of discrepancies existed in photos. These included: weight, teeth, hair length, hair style, skin, age, retouching, cropping, and/or the use of a professional photo.
The results above describe some of the ways individuals may act deceptively with their online dating photographs. Still, all hope should not be lost. Remember that we look different depending on the occasion. That is, we certainly dress differently for our time at the gym, compared to when we go to work, compared to a first date, compared to, let’s say, a research study. Potentially, online dating photographs were accurate here in so much as they represented how one might look on a first date. Still, the age of the photograph was approaching two years.

As explained in the introduction, online dating is a common practice that will likely only continue to grow in popularity. The above research is not meant to scare potential online daters, instead the goal is to allow individuals to go in with eyes wide open. Good luck, happy dating, and always ask for more than one photo!
Dr. Sean M. Horan is a Communication professor. Follow him on Twitter @TheRealDrSean. His expertise area is communication across relationships, with topics including deception, affection, workplace romance, sexual risk/safety, attraction, deceptive affection, and initial impressions. His work/commentary has appeared on CNN, ABC, Fox, Wall Street Journal, and more.
For more information:
Hancock, J. T., & Toma, C. (2009). Putting your best face forward: The accuracy of online dating photographs. Journal of Communication, 59, 367-386. doi: 10.1111/j.1460-2466.2009.01420.x
Pew: http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/10/21/online-dating-relationships/