Online dating is weird, right?

I can’t be the only one to find online dating absolutely ridiculous, can I? I work in Marketing and it honestly feels like you’re having to market yourself to sounds amazing on this little ‘profile’ you have for all to view.

Firstly, it’s impossible for anyone to be without flaws – but you wouldn’t think this from the bios that you come across. Apparently, a ‘typical Sunday’ sees most men go to the gym, they’ll let you keep their hoodie, they’ll love you if you’ve got a dog and they all want a travel companion. Oh, and most of the bios are clearly written by Chat GPT. And don’t get me wrong, there are a fair few profiles which don’t mimic this, and I understand it’s hard to write something in so few words on a profile but it all just seems a bit too…fake? Also, I’m not man-hating over here, we all do it! We all want to sound impressive otherwise we wouldn’t attract anyone!

And, what’s wrong with a “Hey, how are you” message?! Maybe it’s because I’m new to this online dating world and have also been out of the dating world for the last 13 years or so, but you wouldn’t go up to someone in a bar and just come out with something random and niche to peak someone’s interest? I mean, it may work if you’re reallllly smooth but 9 out of 10 times, probably not. Not if you’ve not introduced yourself first, anyway. So why do you get instantly unmatched/ghosted online for asking how someone is? All very strange in my opinion.

But here I am, still contributing to the success of these apps by being on them. What other options do I have? As a single mum who has the kids 99% of the time, when do I have the time to go out and actively meet anyone? So, I guess this is my best bet for the moment. And oh boy, has it been a revelation, an eye-opener and just an overall surreal experience.

Is it just me? I’m also very much aware of how grumpy I sound about the whole thing which probably explains why I’m still single.