With online dating becoming a major
way of connecting with a potential partner, there are bound to be some flaws to
it. Over 40,000,000 people have used online dating, all of which have had
various results. Of these people though, how many have actually provided the
entire truth about themselves without altering a couple little facts? In a
study conducted with 80 online dating profiles, about 81% lied about a physical
trait such as height, weight, or age. People could lie about anything from
their careers, to their marital status, even as far as where they live. This is what is called deception in online dating.
It becomes a question of “why would
people lie about themselves?” The answer however, is actually pretty simple. If
you are standing with four of your friends trying to attract some girls, but
all of your friends look more attractive than you, how do you expect to win
over one of those girls? The same concept applies to online dating. If most
other people lie about themselves on an online dating website, people will
believe that it makes it harder for them to find someone if they don’t lie
themselves. This eventually creates a downhill spiral that gets out of control.
In an L.A. times article, a woman
met up with someone who was not who they said they were. It talks about a
woman’s personal experience with meeting someone online and how she found out
he was lying about everything. The man sent various pictures that weren’t of
him, and when they met in person, the woman had no idea who he even was. They
conversed for about 3 weeks, so when they met, the woman was furious. Although
this is a severe case, the concept is most definitely the same. I found a video
of people talking online and meeting up, but when they met up, one of them wore
a fat suit. When it was a woman who wore a fat suit, the responses seemed very
negative. Reactions varied from just surprised, but continuing the date, to
some people even getting up and just walking away. When a guy wore the fat suit
though, most girls were more accepting of it. They gave the man a chance and
didn’t just immediately shut him out like the guys did to the girl.
Regardless of whether people lie or
not, you will never know until you meet them in person. As you give people the
option to virtually recreate themselves, they can take advantage of it. And for
the most part, people would assume lying is bad, but sometimes maybe it isn’t.
Small lies about height and age probably wouldn’t make or break a relationship
that was created and developed through texting or internet communication.
L.A. Times Article: http://www.latimes.com/style/laaffairs/la-hm-affairs-20140927-story.html
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