You’ve met this incredible person on an online dating app and they’ve got great chat. They’re witty and endearing, messaging just the right amount to seem eager but not creepy. They’re ambitious, interesting and fun and they’re keen to meet you for drink. I mean they’re gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous and they want to actually meet in person. You, in person, actually. BINGO.
So you turn up to the bar early and text them where you’re sat. Finally a date you’re interested in going on. This could be it, the person you’ve been waiting for all this time, swiping for all this time, conjuring up in your mind all this time? And in walks someone shorter than you were expecting, still relatively good looking but SHORTISH. Someone wrinklier. Wrinklier than you were expecting, not wildly wrinkly but wrinklier all the same. Someone thicker round the middle. Portly? Are they portly? Their face was so smooth in their photo’s their lips so pouty, so kissable, so yummy. Didn’t they have abs for days? You force yourself to greet them, to paint on a smile. You politely hide your disappointment and begin scanning your mind for an excuse to leave soon because you realise what’s happened. They look nothing like their dating profile which forces you to wonder: “Who is this person and what else have they lied about”?
The rise of unrealistic images on social media has resulted in more and more people succumbing to the pressure to look “perfect”. Technological advancements mean that all of us have the ability to heavily edit our images. Online dating allows us to present ourselves to the world in a more “attractive” light. But is it ever okay to falsely represent yourself on your dating profile? And what are the most common editing techniques people are using and how can you spot them?
They have unrealistic body proportions
The most obvious way to spot an over-edited photograph is to look at what’s going on in the background of the shot. Does anything look distorted or blurred in the background? If someone has slimmed down a waist or an arm you can often tell by looking at the background of the image. Sometimes, if someone is very good at editing we can’t tell by looking at the background but if someone’s waist in a photo resembles that of Disney’s Jasmine from Aladdin it probably means they’ve edited their photograph. No one has a waist like Jasmine from Aladdin, probably not even Jasmine from Aladdin.
They don’t look their age
Most people who are over the age of 30 and smiling in a photo are going to have a certain amount of movement in their faces. Unless of course they have heavily edited an image or had cosmetic surgery. If someone looks a bit like a Madame Tussaud waxwork (as I do in the below edited shots) they may have been editing their images to appear more youthful. In a world, so looks orientated who can even blame them?
Unedited Image
Edited Image
Their make-up is on point and their are lips are full and PERFECT
It’s now possible to edit bigger lips onto your images, to add eye make up and to even give yourself a lovely tan. I actually think that this is the most difficult edit to spot. Ultimately, if it looks too good to be true it very well might be.
They look like Ross from friends
Extremely white teeth in an image are most likely to be porcelain veneers or cleverly edited. Real teeth only reach a certain level of whiteness. If they have nashers that look like they would glow in the dark, it’s likely that their smile isn’t going to glow so well when you meet them in person.
So, the question remains: Is it okay to edit your images to increase your chances of meeting someone lovely? The answer isn’t straightforward. There’s certainly a big difference between removing something temporary, like a spot or dark circle, or brightening the image vs changing your body shape and removing any trace of natural ageing. Ultimately if you go on a date and you look a lot different to your image you’re likely to at the very least confuse the person you’re meeting and it is quite difficult to alter a first impression. Yes you might get less matches by using more authentic images but at least the people you do match with are attracted to you just the way you are. Not only that but you’ll be giving an impression of being secure and honest which is much more attractive than a 23 inch waist and a pout to rival Kylie Jenner.