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OkCupid.com charges users about $4,95 (about R50) for the service. The website excludes anyone who’s described themselves as “with curves”, “slim” or “skinny” – according to your preference.
Users can also filter people according to their body type and attractiveness – as determined by other users. An anonymous OkCupid.com user told the Daily Mail she’s upset by the fact men can exclude her on the basis of her body type.
“Yet the search function trusts that people will describe themselves accurately. I was lucky that every man I met on the website looked like the picture on their profile. Others have had horrible surprises when they met the person for a real date.”
Tips for your online date profile
- The name: You may be a friendly, funny guy or girl visiting a website for online dates, but it’s not necessary for those descriptions to be part of your name, NiceGuyTom889. Show who you are, don’t spell it out in your name.
- The photograph: Don’t create a false impression by loading a photograph taken five years ago straight after a visit to the hairdresser. Avoid using a “selfie”, especially one in a mirror where the camera is also visible. If you have self-confidence it will radiate from the photograph, even if you’d like to lose a few kilograms.
- The questions: Be specific. You may say you like movies and holidays but you might mean art movies with subtitles and for holidays you might mean lying on a tropical beach rather than taking a volunteer’s holiday in Nepal.
- Avoid too many adjectives to describe yourself. Clever, cute, funny, inquisitive, athletic, organised, gentle-natured and fun. You must keep something about yourself a secret you can share on your first date.
- Use a dictionary: Your profile is not an SMS or WhatsApp message. You’ll seem much more intelligent if you spell correctly.
Sources: Dailymail.co.uk, gq.com, chicagonow.com
Read about our online date blogger’s experiences on the internet at you.co.za.
