by Akua Hinds

Created on: March 19, 2010

It is a common fact that people who post photos of themselves on their online dating profiles will get more responses from other singles than people who don’t post their photos.   This information is not surprising because it is only fair to see a true likeness of who you are considering communicating with.  In this day and age of accessible and affordable technology, there is no excuse for anyone not to be able to upload a digital image for their online dating profile.  Anyone who pleads poverty as the reason why they can’t post images to their online dating profile is probably someone you shouldn’t be dating anyhow.  After all, if he can’t afford a digital camera, how could he afford to take you out on a date?

I’ve gone out on a few dates with men who didn’t look like their profile photo.  One of the men I went out with had stated in his profile that he was 35 years old but when I met him in person, he looked about 10 years older than his profile photo.  He definitely didn’t look 35 and I was very turned off that this man had clearly lied about his age and misrepresented himself on the dating site where we had met.  I still continued with the date but I never went out with him again.  If a person is willing to lie about his age or is unwilling to post a recent photo online, how can they be trusted with more important matters in life?  It almost seems better to not post a picture of yourself at all if you aren’t comfortable with doing that, than to post a dated photo of yourself.  If anyone who belongs to a dating website is considering meeting another member of that site and that member doesn’t have a profile photo posted, they should quickly move on.  The only exception to that rule should be if the other person sends you an exclusive email with his or her photo attached in the email.  You deserve to know who you’re getting involved with!  It’s better to be safe than sorry.

Dating website members who don’t post pictures of themselves could have various reasons as to why they don’t wish to reveal their faces, but these people should be treated with suspicion.  Many people meet for the first time face to face, and from there, they begin to build relationships.  Online dating has a different formula.  The whole point of online dating is to meet someone on your own terms in the privacy of your own surroundings.  Online dating is usually a very fun and safe experience for many, but only if the people interacting with each other have integrity.  People who have integrity usually have very little to hide, and they have no qualms about showing their faces to the world.  Men and women who are bold enough to post their pictures on their dating profiles deserve to be contacted only by people who are just as willing to post their own photos.  After trust is established then the face to face meeting should take place. 

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