If you’re looking for your next Prince Charming online, it might be time to take a look at your profile pictures.
While there is no doubt you’re a natural beauty, the debate on whether or not to throw on those filters before you upload a profile snap has been answered.
While we’re not against a little help from the Instsagram fairy, researchers at the University of Connecticut found that while men viewed women with enhanced photos as more attractive, they also found them less trustworthy.
Interestingly enough, women who viewed men with enhanced photos rated the potential partner as more attractive and more trustworthy.
Taking a sample of 305 people aged 17-36 years old, the results hinted at a feeling of deception online… mainly due to the larger phenomena of catfishing.
Speaking about the results, researcher Rory McGloin said:
“Trust is an important part of any relationship and it certainly plays an important role in the forging of new social bonds in the dating context. Yet, we found an interesting relationship between attractiveness and trust for males who were viewing female profile pictures. Specifically, men typically found the more beautified and therefore more attractive profile to also be less trustworthy.
“This finding provides an empirical highlight to the concept of cat-fishing and the larger phenomena surrounding online dating, in which it is both normal and acceptable for individuals’ to mislead or deceive their potential suitors.”
So what’s the best way to approach an online profile?
Wearing natural make-up and a subtle filter could help you bag a date without the stress of a catfish accusation.
Happy hunting.
