Making your profile look younger when dating

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Key Takeaways:

• Online dating is becoming increasingly popular, especially among older singles.
• Men and women occasionally fib about their age to increase their chances of success.
• Misrepresenting your age can help outsmart the algorithms of dating platforms and find another pool of singles.
• Although there may be some reasons why you might cheat on your age when dating online, it's not an ideal start to the getting-to-know-you phase.
• Nevertheless, if you think you need to leave out or add a few years when creating your profile, you shouldn't hide it for long when getting to know someone.

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The saying goes that love knows no boundaries - and certainly not when it comes to age. But if you take a look at the forums of renowned dating sites such as eHarmony, you'll notice one thing for sure: many singles seem to cheat on their age when it comes to online dating.

Nowadays, adding or distorting information in a profile seems to have become a common practice. Filters are used, the description, slightly altered, and everything is done to make the profile look as interesting and attractive as possible.

But why cheat on your age and run the risk of losing everything in the end? Does the age on the profile really make such a big difference and do other numbers increase the chances of success? This is a phenomenon that we will be addressing in this article and for which we have prepared different questions.

• Is age a problem in online dating?
• Is it allowed to cheat on your age?
• Why do some people pretend to be younger/older than they actually are?
• The age lie blows up ! All over?
• Clearing up the age lie - this is how it works

Would you like to know why age seems to be such a big issue in online dating and whether people actually cheat about it? Then let's get to the bottom of it together!

First, the crucial question:

Is age a problem in online dating?

And by that, we don't mean teenagers who pretend to be one or two years older on dating sites. This concerns singles who sign up on dating platforms thinking that they have fewer chances because of their age.

Among the reasons: Nowadays, once women in particular reach a certain age, they have a hard time in the dating game. Even men who have hit 40 lookout for women in their twenties. The reason, they blame women of their age for their tendency to project themselves directly into a common future and taking things too seriously. Once the drawer is opened, women of a certain age are lumped in, then men turn to another age group. It is not surprising that some women change their age and pretend to be a few years younger.

But even the men's side doesn't escape the temptation to cheat a little. When you're over 40, the odds of meeting someone go down. Then 41 becomes 37 - what are four years when you regularly hear that you look much younger.

And 34-year-old Anna has experienced for herself, that age does indeed seem to play an important role.

"About two years ago, I registered on a dating site, stating my true age of 32. And believe it or not, most of the men who wrote to me were over 40 years old, and they weren’t my type at all. I wanted to meet a man of the same age, but they didn't seem to be interested in me. Recently, I signed up again on a dating app and yes, I lied about my age. Since I look much younger, I just put 28 instead of 34. It's the same app, but today I receive messages mostly from men in my correct age range."

Anna’s experience proves that age really can make a difference in online dating. She's probably not the only one, and she's just one of many singles who don't take the age information on their profile very seriously.

But...

Is it allowed to cheat on your age?

Okay, we already know that age can actually play a role and become a problem when looking for a partner. But does that justify deceiving other members and making them believe a false age?

When we were young, we probably all tried to make ourselves look one or two years older so that we could go to the movies or buy our first liquor. However, by the time the hoax was discovered, we were reprimanded by our parents and told that this was not the way to behave.

So, we learn that lying is not correct and yet many seems to forget that when creating their dating profiles. Even if the singles don't have any bad intentions and just want to increase their chances, it's not a fine move. It may well be that men and women over 40 feel much younger. But even that is still no reason to put a false age on the profile. Especially since many singles consider honesty to be one of the most important exclusion criteria. The fib about age is not necessarily well received and should therefore be avoided.

In principle, it is not a capital offense to lie on your age. However, you should also be aware that sooner or later the truth may come to light and probably discourage the other person. Honesty is known to be the best move and it starts with telling the truth about your real age!

And...

Why do some pretend to be younger/older than they actually are?

As we just found out, a few years can have a huge difference in response on dating sites. Women who pretend to be four to five years younger are suddenly contacted by twice as many men from different age groups. And men have also deciphered the secret of the numbers and noticed that a four in the first position is more deterrent than a three. The reason why men and women pretend to be younger is the hope to attract more singles and increase their chances of success.

But why do some pretend to be older?

It's the same game, but seen from the other side. Not everyone who is 30 looks the same. Many men have to struggle with the baby face. Without a beard and with their hair shaved, some men look like teenagers. So, to attract women over 30, they tend to add a few years and hope to look more attractive to these ladies.

This is something that can also happen with female singles if they plan to have a family in their late 20s and want a more mature partner. Many singles in their twenties are not considered future-oriented and are seen more as singles who just want to have fun. Those who then turn a few years older are quickly seen as a choice for a serious relationship.

But then it comes...

The age lie blows up - is it all over?

Who fibs in the profile design, always runs the risk of messing everything up. Be it false information about the appearance, embellished pictures or even the wrong age. People rely on honesty when dating online and don't want to be fooled from the very first minute. However, this does not necessarily mean that lying about your age is the end of the line.

Rather, it depends on how someone learns that their counterpart is younger or older than they thought. Of course, finding out the truth by a silly coincidence could backfire. It may sound only half as wild at first to fake the age a little. But at the end of the day, it's a breach of trust right from the start, and that can put a quick end to the acquaintance process when it comes to online dating.

Anyone who cheats when stating their age should think of quickly disclosing the secret. After all, an open and frank conversation is more appreciated than a situation in which the true age accidentally comes to light.

The only question is:

Clearing up the age lie - this is how it works!

To pretend to be older or younger on a dating site is certainly not the subtle way to do things. But it does not necessarily mean the end of the getting-to-know-you phase. What's important is to tell the truth early on and not leave the other person in the dark for too long.

Ideally, this step should be taken before the first date and shortly after making contact. In doing so, you should honestly and openly tell the other person the reason why you needed to change your age. No one wants to have the feeling of being just part of a game or even being seen as an experiment. Therefore, you should have some tact so as not to hurt the other person's feelings.

Here's what such a message might look like:

"Hey, thank you very much for your nice message. However, I must immediately confess that I am not 29, but 33. Now before you jump to the wrong conclusion, I would like to explain myself."

Not telling the truth is something that should be avoided. Indeed, the longer this little lie goes on, the greater its potential consequences will be.

Summary:

Having thoroughly addressed the issue of age in online dating, we can't help but conclude that it is not uncommon. Men and women occasionally fib about their age so as to increase their chances of success.

If the first number in the age changes, this would seem to open up completely new possibilities for getting to know each other. Perhaps some people also use the wrong information to trick the algorithms of dating platforms and thus find a different pool of singles. As different as the reasons may be - cheating on the age information in online dating is not an ideal start to the getting-to-know-you phase. However, if you think you have to cut out or add a few years to your profile, you shouldn't keep it a secret for long when getting to know someone.