In the era of swipe left, swipe right, the attention span of which being a split second, the adage you snooze you loose cannot be more apt! It takes a split second for us to decide whether we want to know the other person or not. Never mind his/her qualifications, career graph, life experiences. A picture speaks a 1000 words and if we don’t have these words nailed in a split second we risk the chance of missing out on a good opportunity.
Now none of this is fair, and what you see is not what you get, but unfortunately the effort must be on point. How much is too much? How do we know when someone is looking for love or a one night stand? We don’t. But we can at least attempt to filter and meander the complex dating world by putting out exactly what we want from the other person.
Here are five tips for uploading profile pics:
1 Headshots: We don’t have to be a Ranbir Kapoor or a Deepika Padukone to get swiped right. Energies speak volumes. A simple clean picture of our face, a happy smiling face, is super attractive. Ladies, layering with tons of makeup & blow drys can only get you as far. Not that vanity is not imp, it absolutely is. But what will attract a man more likely is a happy energy! So radiate your joy in your head shots!
2 A full length: Dating world is consumed with catfishing. Pretending to be someone you’re not. My question is, what will you achieve? It may get you a date but it’s not taking you any further, especially not if you’re looking for long lasting relationships. Be yourself. Overweight, skinny, you are who you are. Own your body, if you are awkward in your own skin, that’s what you will communicate through your picture! Gents, puffed up gym pics, bicep flexes, only give the impression that you’re too self involved to focus on your lady. Women want to be the centre of your attention not the other way around. Fitness is great, but keep it classy!
3 To reveal or not to reveal: Ladies, if a hook up is what you’re looking for, by all means reveal away. No judgements. But then do not get offended by men who are only looking for some fun in the sack, and wonder why you’re not attracting the serious kinds. It’s phenomenal to be fit and well toned, and you must project that, but there are ways of doing it without leaving little to the imagination.
4 Reflect your hobbies/ interests: This one is particularly important. Not only does it say a lot about you as a person but it’s a great conversation starter! Are you a yoga buff? A passionate dancer? Did you recently sky dive? Is hiking your thing? Do you paint? A little emphasis on who you are as a person rather than just physical appearance is irresistible to most people of the opposite sex. Besides you never know you might just have shared interests. A huge green flag in picking a long term partner.
5 Travel: You don’t have to be flying private jets all over the world, but simple fun pictures of places you’ve been, sometimes a few friends, speaks tons about the fact that you’re willing to experience life through travel, have fun with friends, whether you’re a beach or mountain person, etc. None of these are sure shot guarantees of finding love on the internet but it definitely stacks the odds in your favour in finding what you’re looking for.
(The writer is a Relationship expert and owner of dance fitness studios called Arts in Motion Studios India)
