The Science Behind Online Dating
Scientists give their top tips to be successful at online dating:
- Aim high
- Keep messages short
- Be patient
A new study published in Science Advances was conducted by scientists and data analysts in the US who found going for someone who may be more attractive than you or ‘out of your league’ is the best way to be successful at online dating!
“Men were more successful when they contacted women most attractive than them”
Playing “out of your league” or dating people considered more attractive than you, is a winning strategy, according to a new analysis of internet daters in the US.
Men had greater success when they approached women they believed were more desirable than themselves.The study found that men and women contacted people approximately 25% more attractive than themselves. When women contacted men they would receive a reply 50% of the time. When men contacted women more attractive than them they would receive a reply 21% of the time. Although it may not seem like a good response rate Dr Elizabeth Bruch said:
“I think a common complaint when people use online dating websites is they feel like they never get any replies. This can be dispiriting. But even though the response rate is low, our analysis shows that 21% of people who engage in this aspirational behaviour do get replies from a mate who is out of their league, so perseverance pays off.”
Most online daters just receive a few replies at most but some women can receive much more messages, predominantly from me.
Keep it brief
Men and women usually to write longer messages to a more attractive person but the study, first reported by the BBC found that the length of a message doesn’t make any difference to the response rate.
Dr Bruch said: “I feel that we can save people a lot of work in not writing longer messages.”
A separate study showed more and more British people are turning to sex dating sites for more instant gratification. While adult dating used to be more popular among the 18-30s, studies show more mature daters are sex dating and over 65s would like to have more sex, as reported by the BBC.