/lit/ - Literature

When dating site OkCupid first began, they allowed users to rate prospective partners independently on both personality and looks. Over time, they saw the futility of this approach, as it became apparent that users did not distinguish between personality and looks. In their blog, they cite an example of a "hot" model with no profile filled out, that still scored top points for both looks and personality (even though no one could possibly know anything about the model's personality from an empty profile).

In the end OkCupid disabled the feature, and now only allows one global rating to be given. They published their data from when looks and personality were rated individually so others can see how online dating users consider these two factors essentially the same thing.

Related to this, OkCupid conducted an unwitting experiment pertaining to the effects of profile pictures on one's success in online dating, and the user perceptions of compatibility based on profile text vs photographs. On January 15, 2013, OkCupid celebrated the release of a new app dealing with blind dates by disabling all profile pictures on OkCupid, which they dubbed “Love Is Blind Day”. They found that while overall traffic declined, users were 44% more willing to message first, conversations were lengthier, and contact details were exchanged more often. However, when they restored the profile pictures after the end of the day, they noticed that many of the conversations starting on the day abruptly finished. This further reinforces the idea that displaying one's personality through profile text and messages on online dating apps in an attempt to compensate for physical unattractiveness is likely a doomed endeavor.

When dating site OkCupid first began, they allowed users to rate prospective partners independently on both personality and looks. Over time, they saw the futility of this approach, as it became apparent that users did not distinguish between personality and looks. In their blog, they cite an example of a "hot" model with no profile filled out, that still scored top points for both looks and personality (even though no one could possibly know anything about the model's personality from an empty profile).

In the end OkCupid disabled the feature, and now only allows one global rating to be given. They published their data from when looks and personality were rated individually so others can see how online dating users consider these two factors essentially the same thing.

Related to this, OkCupid conducted an unwitting experiment pertaining to the effects of profile pictures on one's success in online dating, and the user perceptions of compatibility based on profile text vs photographs. On January 15, 2013, OkCupid celebrated the release of a new app dealing with blind dates by disabling all profile pictures on OkCupid, which they dubbed “Love Is Blind Day”. They found that while overall traffic declined, users were 44% more willing to message first, conversations were lengthier, and contact details were exchanged more often. However, when they restored the profile pictures after the end of the day, they noticed that many of the conversations starting on the day abruptly finished. This further reinforces the idea that displaying one's personality through profile text and messages on online dating apps in an attempt to compensate for physical unattractiveness is likely a doomed endeavor.