My parents are currently going through a divorce and I am ashamed to say that I recently made my mother an online dating profile without her knowledge. I did this because I wanted her to meet someone. But more embarrassingly, I was a little curious as to what all the hype was about.
I had never ventured onto a dating website before and I was shocked at how thorough they are while you are creating a profile. You get asked everything from how much money you make to how often you use recreational drugs. I am shocked that they did not ask if my mother had bodies hidden in her downstairs freezer.
My initial impression of the website was that it might actually help people find love but after looking through a couple of potential matches for my mother I can say with 100 percent certainty that it is still very creepy.
Why would someone want to sit on their couch staring at a computer screen and wait for a lifeless, online interaction rather than go out and actually meet people?
The first man matched with my mother had the headline “country but not a hick”. I could already tell just from that fragment of a sentence he was not going to be receiving a message from my mother. If you get one first impression to meet people online you would think the message might be a bit more eloquent.
The other first impression that you get online is the infamous profile picture which can really make or break your interactions. If you are a man and happen to have an online dating site then I would like to give you some advice. Do not use a selfie of you and your cat as your main picture. The only thing I can possible think about when I see a picture of a man with his not-so-enthusiastic-cat is wondering if he has already ordered the crazy cat lady starter kit complete with 10 cats.
Many online dating services have become particular to certain groups of people. While browsing for a good site to put my mother’s profile onto, I came across a number of websites that I did not expect to find. Of course there are the regular dating sites such as Match.com and Plenty of Fish but did you know they have a dating website for cougars looking for younger men? There is also a site to visit if you would like to marry a farmer or a clown. I don’t know about you but I find multi-colored afros and big red noses very attractive.
Perhaps I am wrong about online dating since one out of every three relationships begin online these days. But I still believe online interactions can give you the wrong first impression of a person especially if you send a message with a winky-face emoji. To all of the online daters out there, good luck finding love on the internet and please remember to leave your animals out of your profile pictures.
