Evaluating Online Dating Profiles

Most of us have an innate ability to judge other people. From the way they speak, they make eye contact, the way they shake hands and the way they react to situations. However, this is in the real world where you can see and hear people as well as interact with them. How do you judge people online especially on online dating sites, where you make some of the most crucial decisions in your life? Actually, as you will see, it is not very different to judge people online than how we do it in the real world. We just need to modify our skills a little so that we can quickly understand from his or her dating profile, what the person is really like. Here is a quick guide that will help you judge people by their online dating profile.
1. We have to begin with a small self-evaluation test. We need to understand exactly how good our abilities of judging people are in the real world so that we can then make a realistic assessment of what it is going to take us to be able to judge people online. For this, make a list of your previous five dates and recall what you felt when you first met them. What was it in them that helped you judge the person – make a list of all those characteristics. Now using this list, go through the list of profiles that turn up in your search. See where the positive characteristics you have on your list are reflected in the profile. You can now select these to make a more informed evaluation.
2. While you should certainly not go by the picture that is included in the profile, one cannot deny that it can help you to make an informed decision about the person. From the profiles you have already selected, you may narrow down your choices by deciding which pictures impress you the most.
3. Another very revealing characteristic is the style of writing. A profile that contains a lot of me, I, and myself may hint at a self-centered person. On the other hand, if you like what the person says about himself or herself, you might want to give that profile a shot.
4. Other than the photograph, some of the physical descriptions and personality descriptions will help you to make up your mind. For example, look at the height and weight of the person and along with the picture, imagine what the person will be like. Similarly, there may be a self-written description of the person’s nature, likes and dislikes. For example, if the person says he or she loves to barbecue or surf, but describes herself or himself as an indoor kind of guy, there is an obvious contradiction in the descriptions. Pay careful attention to any such discrepancies.
5. Finally, always trust your instinct.  Even if everything sounds and looks good and you cannot find any obvious contradictions in the statements made in the profile, if you feel that there is something wrong, you are probably better off avoiding that person.