Your basket is currently empty!
Given the amount of people lying on their online dating profiles, it is more than likely you will find someone who has lied than someone who is being entirely honest. The reality is that if you are adamant that you do not want someone who has fudged their details, even just a little bit, you will be left with very slim pickings.
Sadder still, if you insist upon sticking to your principles, and refuse to amend your own details where necessary, you may end up with an even smaller pool of talent to choose from. Yes, it may not pay to be honest in online dating. Depressing, huh?
Let’s face it, the chances are that, right now, you are lying about something on your online dating profile. There is nothing like an inbox, filled to the brim, with messages from undesirables to tempt someone into bending the truth a little to get past restricted searches.
Yes, you may well end up with more hits from people by lying about your age, location or any other obstacle that you believe is getting in the way. The more people who see you, the more likely it is that you will receive contact from people that you find attractive.
You may feel that it is worth the risk. However, if you meet an online date in person and they are confronted with anything other than what they are expecting, it is sure to backfire.
Honesty is best – if not less complicated in the long run. However, in a cyber-dating world where almost everyone is telling fibs, it would appear that is not as frowned upon, as it would be in other areas of life and you are likely get away with it.
If you must lie to get past the restricted searches, be upfront in your profile description and come clean with whatever it is you are faking. For example, if you have decreased your age, state ‘I am actually 45, not 39’ in your profile where you are invited to write about yourself.
Now that they have found you, they may feel attracted to you and conclude that age is nothing but a number and contact you anyway. They may even admire your honesty.
If you feel too shy to put that information out there, tell them the truth in your initial exchange of communication.
It is simpler to get it out of the way as soon as possible and it allows them to decide whether or not they still want to take things further.
Certainly, you should come clean and reveal your little white lie in the very early stages of your relationship.
It would be completely unacceptable for someone to get intimate with another person before telling you the truth.
With all that said, can you really find true love on online dating websites? The answer is yes. Many people still find happy partnerships through this medium. People can lie offline as easily as they would online, if they so wish.
But let us face it, singles are likely to be less critical of someone that they happen to meet by chance in the real world than they would if presented with facts and figures on a computer. After all, you cannot beat chemistry. Ain’t that the truth.
Photo: Kirill Palii