Writing Your Internet Dating Profile Part II: love.com

Now you’ve finished the arduous process of writing the narrative portion of your profile, so it is time to do the easier part of answering a bunch of random multiple choice questions.  These range from how tall you are to whether or not you have pets. 

Right off the bat they have you fill in your height which is easy enough.  Then you put in your body type.  The choices are something like:  about average, slim and slender, a few extra pounds, curvy, athletic and toned, full-figured, or no answer.  So I’m thinking that if I put “no answer,” whoever reads it will automatically assume the worst (this is true) but I’m also thinking that there is no way under any stretch of the imagination that I’d be considered slim and slender or athletic and toned.  The important thing is to be honest while putting things in as positive a light as possible.

You also get to pick which forms of sports/exercise you enjoy from a big, long list of choices.  Now, granted the list of items is varied and ranges from billiards to soccer to bowling to yoga.  It even includes nightclub dancing, which I think is a stretch when it comes to exercise but whatever I marked it.  However, I figured I had better pick some other items, and really I didn’t see any others that were just jumping out at me.  I do like to ski, but mostly it’s cost-prohibitive and I think the last time I did it I didn’t have a child—marked it anyway.  I put running since I find it a necessary evil though enjoying it would be a BIG exaggeration. 

Then they have a menu for your “interests.”  There are many choices here, too, and again this is where your job interview skills may come in handy.  The well-rounded candidate is more likely to get the job, right?  On the other hand, there are quite a few on there that are automatically going to get you eliminated from date candidacy in my book.  For example, do not choose “Hobbies and Crafts” or “Video Games.”  This would be somewhat akin to telling a job interviewer that the best way you’d be an asset to his or her company is because of your paper clip organizing skills and your amazing knack for sinking crumpled up paper balls into trash cans. 

Personally, I gave up “Camping” when I got a divorce and now my idea of roughing it is a hotel without room service so nope that’s not for me.  I didn’t want to put “Movies/Videos” even though I do enjoy them because you don’t want to sound like a cheap date.  It’s all a very tricky business.  You want to sound fun and intellectual but not too wild or geeky. 

Two more sticky issues are that of religious beliefs, and political views.  These are sort of the “no-no” topics of conversation anyway, but they have to be dealt with on these online dating things so here goes.  You can always put “no answer” and see how that works for you and I’ve tried that from time to time.  The problem with that is you then tend to get wackos from both ends of the spectrum.  My personal views on both of these subjects have changed over the years, and no matter what your beliefs are for yourself, remember your goal is to meet someone to date with whom you feel a connection.  I guess you have to decide how important these things are to you in the scheme of your life and then choose what to put. 

Upcoming Topics:  It’s Alright to Be Picky in Internet Dating, Online Dating is a Lot Like Cold Calling

copyright © 2009  Tiia Jones