The Daily Observer London Desk: Reporter- John Furner
Women seeking a relationship have revealed which messages a prospective partner should definitely not send on dating apps.
Researchers led by Purdue University, Indiana, found that among 275 participants — mostly female — starting a conversation with a sexually explicit message was the biggest turn-off, especially for people looking for a long-term relationship.
Conversely, someone whose initial message included a greeting and a question was more likely to get a positive response.
It comes as a separate group of scientists also revealed that tall men would prioritize tall women for relationships, but see short ones as just a fling.
Women seeking a long-term relationship on dating apps find a sexually explicit opening line surprising and a violation, according to new research. The study surveyed 275 undergraduate students at a public university in the Midwest between the ages of 18 and 29 years old
Amanda Lilly, a PhD student who led the research, and others noted in the study: ‘Online daters might choose to reserve sending sexually explicit content until they are sure the recipient would appreciate that kind of communication.’
They added: ‘Online daters who understand when it is and is not appropriate to use sexually explicit messages may be more effective at attaining their goals.’
For the study, published in the journal Personal Relationships, researchers surveyed 275 undergraduate students.
Of these, about 66 percent were women. The majority were also heterosexual — 79 percent — and all were aged between 18 and 29 years old. Some 64 percent were also white.
Each completed an online survey with personal details about themselves and were presented with scenarios where they had received questions from a match on a dating app.
They were also asked whether they were looking for a long-term or casual relationship.
Participants were told to ‘imagine that you have just received a message from someone that you have been matched with as a potential partner on the online dating app/site of your choice’.
Then some were told that the first message they received was a greeting including a question mark and asked to imagine how they responded.
The others were told they had received a message that was ‘sexually explicit’ in nature as the first contact.
Scientists did not detail what the explicit message may be, saying that they did not want to cause offense or upset to the participants. Instead, they gave them a description of the message.
Results showed that participants were more likely to respond favorably to the greeting and question mark than the sexually explicit message. This held true even if they were looking for casual flings rather than a long-term relationship.
Ultimately, they found that even men and women looking for casual hook-ups did not especially appreciate it when someone came out too strong right out of the gate. All groups preferred a traditional greeting best.
Although a sexy opening pick-up line ‘is becoming a common tactic utilized by some when trying to start a romantic relationship,’ the scientists wrote, ‘the current study indicates that these types of messages tend to violate recipients’ expectations in a relationship.’
