They say a photo speaks more than a thousand words. And when it comes to first impressions in online dating, there isn’t much room for words. So, your photos will speak for you. Folks at Skylum conducted an interesting survey to find out more about the importance of photos in online dating. The results give us more information and an interesting insight into how photos affect your decision to swipe left or right.
The survey was conducted online on a sample of 3,681 adults (above 18 years old). 1,030 of them have used an online dating service to find a date or a partner. Some studies suggest that it only takes a split second to get the first impression of someone. And in online dating – that’s just enough time to look at their photo.
When it comes to first impressions, Skylum’s survey results suggest that as many as 58% of people would never connect with someone who doesn’t have a photo. 25% of them thinks that having a good photo means you care more about dating. In other words, it suggests that you made an effort to present yourself. And when it comes to swiping right on Tinder (or connecting with someone on any other service), 38% people said that the better the photos the more likely they are to connect.
Now we get to the part that I personally find very interesting. The survey results 43% of people think that they can get a better sense of someone’s personality based on their photos. I am very curious about the online dating phenomenon. I used Tinder for a while, both for finding a date and for “social researching purposes” as I like to call it. From what I saw, I firmly believe that you can get the sense of someone’s personality and their expectations based just on their photos.
The survey also examines deal breakers. We all have them, but are we willing to overlook them if someone’s photos show us something we like? Skylum defined six groups of deal breakers, and between 23% and 28% people are ready to overlook each of them if the photos of their potential date are good enough:
And what about photo deal breakers? We learned that good photos will likely bring you more success, but what are the things that will make people skip connecting with you? The survey lists ten photo deal breakers, and “not having a photo” takes the first place. I know some of these were total deal breakers for me, so if you use online dating apps, let me know if you feel the same:
- 55% no photo
- 34% bad quality photos
- 33% photos with someone that could be an ex
- 31% filters (e.g. Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat and similar filters)
- 31% multiple of same photos
- 29% giant groups
- 26% blocking out other people’s faces (e.g. via emoji, stickers, blue etc.)
- 23% mirror pics/gym selfies
- 20% photos of only their face
- 19% photos with an exotic animal/pet that might not be theirs
Skylum also examined which tools would users of dating apps/sites would use. 40% said they’d like to use basic photo editing tools such as auto-enhancement, cropping. 32% survey takers believe that people should make an effort to have better photos.
Personally, I find surveys like this very interesting. In fact, I was thinking of conducting one of my own, just for fun. But alas, there’s never enough time. :) Anyways, as a photographer, I’m sure you know just how much a single photo can tell. And if you’re using dating apps, keep in mind that your photos tell a lot about you, too.
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