If you're looking for some pointers for what makes the best dating profile, then you're in luck since you can get it straight from the horse's mouth. Sean Rad, Tinder's chief executive, offered some tips on how to create a convincing and effective dating profile, speaking to the audience on Friday, Oct. 7 at this year's New Yorker's TechFest.
"What gets you the most swipes from a sociological perspective?" Rad asked. "What are people looking for?" Rad noted that sociologists present within their staff observe this daily, conducting research to answer these questions.
"Smiling in a photo is bad," according to Rad, citing one of the research findings. Rad advised Tinder users to dress up in bright colors to draw attention. Also, if users can make people aware of one of their interests, they're more likely to be conspicuous, thus garnering added screen time, which is crucial in an era where a single photo can represent to an extent of falsehood or exaggeration, a whole spectrum of personality and traits.
More notably, the research also indicates that some types of jobs sit better with a number of Tinder users. Rad displayed a slide that showed a ranking of professionals who receive more successful results than others in the dating app. For males, pilots assume the top spot, followed by founders/entrepreneurs and then firefighters. For females, physical therapists get the most matches, followed by interior designers and then founders/entrepreneurs.
However, besides these pointers, Rad summoned the familiar mantra of just "being yourself." Online dating apps, as they stand today, have kept up with the pace our attention span can only tolerate. To an extent, dating becomes augmented and packaged in a way that's almost crossing over to superficial craftsmanship instead of genuine attempts to make a connection.
But Rad said that people are better at filtering what is genuinely interesting from something that's engineered to attract an onslaught of notional matches. If a photo is the entire currency with which Tinder is fueled by, Rad was quick to quip that "[m]odel photos don't work on Tinder," rebuffing the impression that Tinder users want exclusively to be matched with attractive folks.
Interests and passions elicit the best response, according to Rad. Who knows? Maybe your musical taste can be a springboard for people to decide if you're worth a swipe right. If that doesn't work, there's always Tinder Boost, which promotes your profile for half an hour at a price, naturally.
In a time of dependence on virtual intimacy, dating apps become almost transactional and performative, dressing up or altering a certain poise to draw fanfare. Oftentimes, engaging in this fast-paced deliberation process takes a toll on a user's self-worth. But if none of these is a legitimate concern for you, then feel free to take Rad's advice to heart.
