Is Online Dating "Mandatory?"

[longtail]

Several acquaintances, including some friends, are very serious about their social media accounts and online dating. Several people I know have had professional photoshoots done for online dating. Others have invested several thousands of dollars in high end cameras and lenses for their own shoots without a pro.

I feel embarrassed to admit this, but several girls I've met in person who strike me as unattractive look strikingly attractive in their online accounts, to the point that I almost developed crushes on their online persona. They don't even look like different people but there's something about 2D images which makes them look much prettier than in person. These women have success dating even though they are significantly overweight.

I also know several ethnic/muslim/arab guys who are having success dating because their photoshoots turned out so well. This surprises me since again, they are not especially good looking IRL. It seems like without paying for a photoshoot, you are not going to be as successful in online dating as one could be.

 

[marmel75]

Lmao...your friends are idiots. Pics help but I've never had any issues getting dates or getting laid from OLD without professional pics.

If they are having that big of a problem no amount of money on pics is going to help them. In person is what counts and any dude spending thousands of dollars on pics is almost guaranteed terrible in person.

 

[billtx49]

“Is online dating mandatory?”
No, there’s a thing called Real life, give it a try …

 

[Amante Silvestre]

Is Online Dating "Mandatory?"

No. It is a fringe benefit.

Everything else you're talking about is absurd.

 

[Espi]

From-the-neck-up-only photos are, in my opinion, a huge red flag. It seems to me that most ugly/fat/average women can easily make themselves look doable via photos.

I know an obese woman at the office who has an interoffice from-the-neck up photo attached in the signature of her work emails, and I would think, based solely on her photo, that she's a solid "7". I also suspect that the photo is 5 years older, but their lying about age never bothers me because I meet so many women attractive who are into their late fifties.

I almost always avoid emailing women who post face photos only, and I limit my searches to slender/athletic/average body types. I usually won't hesitate to delete the ones who look suspect and/or don't include at least 1 head-to-toe photo.

I've probably met over 500 women via online dating sites and the ones who show themselves head-to-toe have rarely ever disappoint me. Admittedly I'm not very picky: In addition to 50+ers I've fukked plenty of averages and a few fatties.

 

[Tilex]

Hell no
It's incredibly phony

You can't read body language through online interactions.
The introvert/extrovert communication dynamic is also at play.
Introverts may have a bubbly, flirty, funny personality online, but will appear reserved, timid, shy, and low energy in person.
Extroverts are the complete opposite of this.
Extroverts are terrible online communicators. You'll most likely get short sentences or one word answer from them online, only to realize later how different they are in person.
I'm mainly speaking about Introvert/Extrovert women btw.

If you're so worried about taking that "perfect" picture here's some advice:

just do what women do - take a massive amount of pics until you accidentally look good in one.

 

[oldmanofthesea]

I also know several ethnic/muslim/arab guys who are having success dating because their photoshoots turned out so well.

Ethnic, muslim, and arab guys have success at dating? Dude, call the police!!!

 

[bigdave17]

Several acquaintances, including some friends, are very serious about their social media accounts and online dating. Several people I know have had professional photoshoots done for online dating. Others have invested several thousands of dollars in high end cameras and lenses for their own shoots without a pro.

I feel embarrassed to admit this, but several girls I've met in person who strike me as unattractive look strikingly attractive in their online accounts, to the point that I almost developed crushes on their online persona. They don't even look like different people but there's something about 2D images which makes them look much prettier than in person. These women have success dating even though they are significantly overweight.

I also know several ethnic/muslim/arab guys who are having success dating because their photoshoots turned out so well. This surprises me since again, they are not especially good looking IRL. It seems like without paying for a photoshoot, you are not going to be as successful in online dating as one could be.

in my opinion, it is a good supplement to real life approaching

nothing says you can't approach women in real life AND also do online dating. The cool thing with OLD is you can work on it on a tuesday at 9 am. WTF are you going to do to pick up chicks at 9 am?

the issue is though, you have no margin for error. You have to be good looking, in shape and decent height. Avg guys can succeed in real life approaching with personality - there is no personality with OLD so you have to be very good looking

 

[longtail]

Aside from apps bumble and tinder), what online dating sites are best for men? I know of OKCupid, Match and POF. Anything else good?

 

[longtail]

I checked two online dating sites. They were absolutely awful. Awful. 90% of the women are over 30. Most were divorced and/or single moms. About 80% of the girls on one site were flat out ugly.

Almost all of the online action has shifted to smartphone dating apps.

 

[longtail]

One little tip. I just scanned through some of the profiles from a couple of online dating sites. You can actually visit some of these girls and approach them at their place of work. There are a couple of situations where it's actually convenient for me to do so, and since their work site is "public" where they are interacting with lots of people, approaching them is to be expected and completely normal.

 

[MatureDJ]

An article about the tricks that fat chicks do with face photos:

https://www.bustle.com/articles/147097-27-photos-of-my-fat-face-that-prove-camera-angle-is-everything-photos

 

[Bible_Belt]

I checked two online dating sites. They were absolutely awful. Awful. 90% of the women are over 30. Most were divorced and/or single moms. About 80% of the girls on one site were flat out ugly.

Almost all of the online action has shifted to smartphone dating apps.

Attractive women often hide their profiles so that you cannot see them until they contact you first. Otherwise, they get a hundred messages a day. So when you scan through what you can see, it is not a random sample. And yeah, apps rule the day now. Many are built on the 'swipe left/right" concept, idea being to keep the hot ones from being chased away by desperate, clingy weirdos.

And, about professional pics, I had a few pics from mma that were done by the pro who worked the event. They were good if I already had a little rapport, but I got a lot of accusations of being fake and stealing someone else's pictures.

 

[EyeBRollin]

Aside from apps bumble and tinder), what online dating sites are best for men? I know of OKCupid, Match and POF. Anything else good?

POF and Bumble are the best in my experience.

 

[HankHill]

I also know several ethnic/muslim/arab guys who are having success dating because their photoshoots turned out so well. This surprises me since again, they are not especially good looking IRL.

LOL you keep bringing this up...did I bang your girl? Sorry bro, I'll buy you a drink...just don't tell my community that I drink and bang women. ROFL.

 

[HankHill]

Aside from apps bumble and tinder), what online dating sites are best for men? I know of OKCupid, Match and POF. Anything else good?

Wait, weren't you harassing people about how OLD is for desperate people and urging them to post their pics here? Change your tune?

 

[HankHill]

I checked two online dating sites. They were absolutely awful. Awful. 90% of the women are over 30. Most were divorced and/or single moms. About 80% of the girls on one site were flat out ugly.

Almost all of the online action has shifted to smartphone dating apps.

How old are you? Where do you live? I see women in their twenties on OLD all the time but probably not as many because at a younger age they're out having fun in their social lives. You see more older women on OLD because it's hard to meet older single people IRL.

 

[In2theGame]

I couldn't do online dating anymore, I lasted about a month on Bumble. Women there were very fickle. I would get messages like "Hey Sexy" and then begin a small convo until they just stopped. I've always done 100 times better in person when i go out. Been with a ton of Women meeting in real life compared to OLD, Its just not something im fully into because I can't see the whole package. Face, Body, Body Language etc.