5 ms·

I've had some interesting experiences here. I live a little over an hour outside of a major metro area that has a lot of single women. Sitting at home swiping

I've had some interesting experiences here. I live a little over an hour outside of a major metro area that has a lot of single women. Sitting at home swiping, I get almost no matches, and when I tried swiping right on everyone once, the results weren't great, making it seem like my "number" isn't as high as I thought. But then when I go into the city on the weekend and start swiping, I get a boatload of matches from much more attractive women, the kind I really do want to date. It's just like they say in real estate: location, location, location. If you're not a good match or cultural fit for the single women in your area (I'm not), and you're a bit too far for a lot of people to want to bother dating you, the "market" is going to look really bad.

draw_down 11y ago
I've noticed a similar effect between the mid-sized city I live in and when I opened my dating app while visiting SF. The women in SF I matched with seemed "cooler" and were significantly more physically attractive. And in reverse, when I go to the little town in western MD where I grew up, the results are pretty abysmal. As far as maximizing one's own rating, there are a number of subtle signifiers that can be deployed (though it's unethical to outright lie about yourself) and it helps to not be cliche. And of course, the basic matter of having good photos of oneself. Good lighting, well dressed, taken with a longer focal length than a smartphone camera, etc. (I don't fully understand the effect myself, but longer focal length tends to result in a more flattering photo)
- ambicapter 11y ago
  Longer focal length is like a telephoto lens–it flattens out your features. The opposite would be a fisheye lens, which makes everything look bulbous and gross.
- sliverstorm 11y ago
  This is what happens with a short focal length: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/6e/77/52/6e7752ec3ade6080c593a904a7dedffd.jpg https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/6e/77/52/6e7752ec3... Technically the focal length doesn't do anything- what's really happening is a short focal length results in placing the camera very close to the subject (which gives distorted perspectives) while a long focal length results in the camera far from the subject (which minimizes perspective distortion)
  - draw_down 11y ago
    Yeah, that's pretty much how selfies make my nose look too.

draw_down 11y ago

I've noticed a similar effect between the mid-sized city I live in and when I opened my dating app while visiting SF. The women in SF I matched with seemed "cooler" and were significantly more physically attractive. And in reverse, when I go to the little town in western MD where I grew up, the results are pretty abysmal. As far as maximizing one's own rating, there are a number of subtle signifiers that can be deployed (though it's unethical to outright lie about yourself) and it helps to not be cliche. And of course, the basic matter of having good photos of oneself. Good lighting, well dressed, taken with a longer focal length than a smartphone camera, etc. (I don't fully understand the effect myself, but longer focal length tends to result in a more flattering photo)

ambicapter 11y ago
Longer focal length is like a telephoto lens–it flattens out your features. The opposite would be a fisheye lens, which makes everything look bulbous and gross.
sliverstorm 11y ago
This is what happens with a short focal length: https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/6e/77/52/6e7752ec3ade6080c593a904a7dedffd.jpg https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/6e/77/52/6e7752ec3... Technically the focal length doesn't do anything- what's really happening is a short focal length results in placing the camera very close to the subject (which gives distorted perspectives) while a long focal length results in the camera far from the subject (which minimizes perspective distortion)
- draw_down 11y ago
  Yeah, that's pretty much how selfies make my nose look too.