When it comes to finding partners that suit your personal interests and compatibility, the search functions of most dating sites will show you a reasonable assortment of candidates to choose from, but if you’re not searching for the most important features that lead to compatibility, then you will likely end up with dates that do not ultimately fulfill your total relationship needs. Particularly with age, location, and body type, you can unintentionally eliminate many potential mates by not understanding how these specifications may affect your search results.
When it comes to searching by age, people are inclined to define an ideal age based on an assumed beauty, maturity level, or ‘stage of life’ associated with a given age. Older man searching for 18-22 year old girls because they’re attracted to their physical beauty are not likely to find mates with whom they can establish a life-time relationship. Seeking out older matches due to a perception of maturity is also misleading, as there are ‘mature’ and ‘immature’ people at every age level. Perhaps the only reasonable consideration for seeking out matches based on a certain age is in assessing the ability to have kids.
Searching by geographic location also has a dramatic impact on the diversity of search results, as increasing your scope from your local area to those within 100 miles can dramatically increase the number of potential matches returned by search queries. Consider how busy your life is, as well as professional responsibilities before engaging with someone that lives a significant distance away. Focusing to your local area might limit your search results, but unless you’re in a position to drive hours every weekend to see your date, it’s much easier to relocate your profile to another dating site with more diversity in your area than relocate your whole life to be with a person you only sort of know from online dating.
Searching by weight, often described as ‘body type’, can also cramp your options, and where weight is specified, the number presented is neither reliable, nor does it necessarily equate to ‘fat’ or ‘slender’, and may have changed dramatically since someone initially posted their profile. ‘Body type’ specifications tend to be less of an accurate portrayal of the profile owner’s body, and more of a reflection of their perception of their body type: for example, a chubby guy that is getting in shape by going to the gym may classify himself as ‘athletic’, while a chiseled athletic wrestler who is shedding weight for a competition may define himself as ‘slender’.
Focus instead on defining the core elements of your searches that are most important to your character, and repeat the same search multiple times with various configurations for age, location, and body type to expand your dating options. Dare to search for profiles without pictures, and when reading someone’s profile, take in the general tone of their presentation and consider whether it resonates with the self-description in your own profile.
Once you’ve found a small handful of desirable targets, you’re ready to Get Their Attention.