The Messages

I started out last week by talking about my own profile, which was quite the hassle to create. Now I feel like I should talk about the messages I’ve been receiving. The response to my profile has been overwhelming. Guys from all over (mostly within a 50 mile radius) have been messaging me. I’m not used to this ridiculous amount of attention, so I had to come up with a system for wading through the messages. So here is my Do Not Respond list.

1. No profile picture. Um, hello. You seem really creepy when you’re faceless. I don’t care if you just joined, put up a picture before you send me a message.
2. No pictures with a face. I don’t want a mirror shot of your abs. I’m glad you find yourself that attractive, but if you’re not showing your face, you look like you have something to hide. And maybe that silhouette picture makes you seem dark and mysterious to some, but to me, you just seem creepy.
3. Improper grammar. If your message is a run-on sentence that makes zero sense, I’m not going to reply. I don’t want to need an interpreter to communicate with you. Example: “i im [name] just moved back home after 5 years in the marine corps, been back in town for a few month an it seems all the friends i had have either started families of their own or have moved out of the area. I’m looking to meet some new people. I’m kind of over going out to the bar every night an meeting the types thats attracted to that scene, don’t get me wrong i love going out an having a few drinks but its defiantly not an every weekend type of thing. id like to meet a genuine nice person an see where things go. i like four wheeling , hunting, walking my dog at shelby farms, an having a good ole time out in the middle of nowhere under the bright blue night sky where you can actually see the stars.” While the content here seems fine, writing “definitely” as “defiantly” is a major pet peeve of mine. Judge me all you want, but I can’t deal with that type of writing. Personal preference, I suppose.
4. Way too intense, way too soon. Um, don’t send me a video of someone singing a love song to his fiancé. Again, can’t deal.
5. Just saying “hey.”  This gives me NOTHING to respond to. I have to go through the person’s profile and dig up some information to start a conversation. Also, sending me “hey what’s up” repeatedly just irritates me. Example:Obviously, if I didn’t respond the first time, I’m not going to respond the second time. And I’m not going to feel bad about not responding. The first week my profile was up, I was getting about ten messages a day. I don’t have the app on my phone, so I only check when I have internet access on my laptop. The whole point of online dating is that I’m incredibly busy with school, so I don’t have a ton of time to have conversations with strangers. I have a screening system which may seem incredibly superficial, but I have to start somewhere.

So a good message that I’d probably respond to would include some mention of something I talked about in my profile, maybe a compliment, and perhaps the start of a conversation about a mutual interest. It doesn’t have to be long. Even just a simple question asking my opinion on a mutual interest would be fine. It seems only about 25% of the messages on OkCupid fit this profile.

Making the Profile

It took me hours to decide on a username for online dating. I didn’t want it connected to any of my social media accounts, and I didn’t want it to be super lame either. After hours (days, really) of debate, I still couldn’t come up with a good one. So finally I just picked something and went with it. I don’t feel like sharing at the moment, maybe later when I’m not still fully embarrassed by the whole situation.

Then I had to fill out this profile. OkCupid has a fairly extensive profile page, but I have no experience with other dating websites to be able to make a comparison. There are essays to fill out as well as basic information. It starts out with a self-summary. I went to this last because other sections ask for more specific details. The second section asks what you’re doing with your life. Since I’m in graduate school, this one was quick and simple.

The third section starts out with “I’m really good at.” Oh dear. I have to brag about myself? What is this nonsense? Everything comes across as hollow and/or stupid. I’m not good at anything someone else isn’t significantly better at. I’m 22 for goodness’ sake! Cut me some slack! This is too much. So I say something about being a good listener, friend, whatever. Because hey, I have been told I’m easy to talk to.

The next section is “The first thing people notice about me.” Um. What? How should I know? Most of the time, I don’t get noticed. I’m a wallflower. I mean, HELLO. I’m on a DATING WEBSITE. Doesn’t that say enough? So I make a snarky comment about being overlooked because of my height and mention that I have a fairly distinctive laugh.

After that comes the list of favorites. Which, surprisingly enough, generated a HUGE amount of messages from potentials. I never thought my interest in fantasy series (television and books) would draw so much attention to myself. Bring it on, fellow nerds. Really though, this sort of stuff is extremely superficial. If the only thing I have in common with someone is that we both watch Game of Thrones, what’s the point? While the plot is pretty intense, it’s not enough to base a relationship on.

The next three sections are pretty silly. Six things you couldn’t live without, what you do on a typical Friday night, and the most private thing you’re willing to admit. My answers were so lame I don’t even feel like sharing. Some people can be really creative and entertaining with these sections, but I can’t try to be funny. It comes across as stupid, and I can’t pull it off in real conversation.

Finally, there’s the whole “you should message me if…” box. This one was a toughie. I ended up putting in a disclaimer saying I would only answer a real, interesting message with decent grammar. While I probably come across sounding like a snob, I was getting too many messages to keep up with. And there’s no way to have a conversation based off of “how u doin.” So I thought I could at least spark some interest and maybe get people to try a little harder if they really wanted my attention.

That profile took a few hours to write, and I still tweak things here and there.