Dating is hard enough, but online dating is arguably even more stressful.
If you’re looking to try the online dating game, a new study has found that other people are actually better at selecting your profile picture than you are.
The study, which was led by a group of researchers at UNSW Sydney, asked 102 students to choose two out of twelve potential photos that they would most likely use as a profile picture for social media, dating sites, and career networking sites.
After selecting images of themselves, they also did the same for others who had previously participated in the survey. The researchers then took to the internet to see how strangers perceived these photos.
They found that, surprisingly, the images not chosen by the individuals themselves were deemed more ‘attractive’ or ‘professional’ than those the individuals personally selected.
David White, PhD, lead the study and says, “Our findings suggest that people make poor choices when selecting flattering images of themselves for online profile pictures, which affects other people’s perception of them.” Although further research is needed to discover exactly why this is is.
So, if you’re looking to up your online dating game we suggest enlisting a few friends to help!
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