Have you ever wondered how much your personality can affect your online dating game? Once you’ve ‘swiped right’ and made your match, do you dive head first or approach with caution? From hopeless romantics to play-hard-to-getters, your own personality traits could be affecting your search for love more than you think.
Here at RealMe, we’ve teamed up with FTI Consulting to uncover how personality traits cause differences in dating behavior. Daters were scored on extraversion, conscientiousness, agreeableness, emotional stability and openness to find out whether they’re a fearless dater, an emotional soul or a true introvert at heart.
What we found was not only do behaviors change between different personalities, but that the pandemic has paved way for some interesting trends amongst the new wave of virtual dating.
Let’s take a look at the common personality profiles of the modern online dater.
1. THE SERIAL SWIPER
Extraverts by nature, Serial Swipers are generally warm, excitement-seeking individuals who draw energy from interacting with others. Craving frequent interaction, three-quarters of Serial Swipers have devoted more time to finding the ying to their yang on apps since the start of the Covid-19 outbreak, compared to 65% of introverts. Deep connections are the ultimate goal and these users have been investing more time in having more meaningful conversations (80% vs 63%).
Longing to find something real, Serial Swipers are willing to put in the grind to connect with others – whether through five video dates or multiple socially-distanced physical encounters. This means they are taking advantage of the sea of new in-app features. Compared to counterpart introverts, they are more likely to have made the most of video chat features (75% agree vs. 57%).
2. THE FREECLIMBER
Next up, we have the conscientious Freeclimber. These daters find themselves lost in a deep search mission to uncover anything matches might be hiding. With virtue high on their list, 61% say they are less likely to trust the online profiles (vs 23% for non-conscientious respondents) and 92% find it more important to look up people they’ve met online. Due to this dutiful nature, 44% have never lied or exaggerated on dating apps – compared to 84% of non-conscientious respondents who have.
While every individual is susceptible to the Freeclimber’s extensive online search, those with a “verified” checkmark on their dating profiles are more likely to pass the test to secure a date. Fortunately, background information found on RealMe can help Freeclimbers make sure their matches really are who they say they are.
3. THE FLOPTIMIST
Looking for a more genuine companion? Enter the Floptimist. This dater will have an open personality and will look past red flags – no matter how serious – to find a partner in self-isolation. In true Floptimist style, their vulnerable and imaginative nature means they’re less likely to separate the real from the fake. Floptimists believe on average, 52% of the profiles they see online are fake, compared to 59% of those less open. This can also lead to an unrealistic expectation of how well an interaction is going which makes them less savvy to exaggerating on dating apps – 39% having never done so, compared to 17% of those who are less open.
At RealMe, we champion safety for everyone. Our extensive access to records and data can uncover key facts about users they might be trying to hide. From criminal to financial to marriage records, we can help stop misleading profiles before they have the chance to connect on with vulnerable users.
4. THE STAGE FIVE CLINGER
At number four, we have the Stage Five Clingers. This person is less emotionally stable, typically responds instantly and tries to set up a date on the same day. This typically lowers their concerns about exactly who it is they are speaking to online. They find it less important to fact check the profiles of anyone they’re matching with, but are much more worried about finding a new partner than more emotionally stable daters (69% are worried, compared to 54%).
This effort to impress makes them more likely to exaggerate on dating apps with just 20% having never done so. Stage Five Clingers have been terrified that their chances of meeting a special someone are much lower in lockdown, so they may be overly eager to find a partner. In an innocent pursuit for love, this eagerness can leave them open to deceit – making technologies that protect them all the more important.
5. THE ‘KITTENFISHER’
Last but in no way least, catfishing’s younger brother, kittenfishing. Scoring low on the agreeableness scale, these daters tend to pepper little white lies across their dating profiles to present a better version of themselves. A massive 80% have lied or exaggerated on dating apps.
Kittenfishers’ untrusting persona also makes them more likely to believe that profiles are fake or made up. Many believe over half (58%) of profiles they see online are made up or fake. With their own untrustworthy attitude as a cause for concern, kittenfishers may present a “takes one to know one” attitude while questioning the validity of potential date profiles and will likely be adamant about a virtual date before they meet in person.
So there you have it – proof that your offline personality traits can in fact shape your online dating persona. Question is, which one are you? Whatever your dating style, RealMe has technology to keep daters safe online. We take real information to help platforms build a genuine user base and most importantly, keep daters safe and connected in a virtual world.
To find out more about us, please visit https://realmehq.com/dating.