A dating app that matches people based on their emotional connection to music has surveyed UK singletons to reveal the most common profile picture turn offs.
Pictures posing with a car top the list, voted as the most off-putting picture to have on a social media profile by all genders, ages, and sexual orientations.
The survey was conducted after the spike in discussions around ‘icks’ and red flags in relationships on social media, prompting the app to look more into how much of a turn off a bad profile picture can be.
The survey also found that ‘fish pics’ (pictures of singletons holding caught fish) were especially off-putting, along with pictures taken in the gym.
In response to the findings the dating app is launching a fun activation in the centre of London this Valentine’s Day, which will see singletons driving around the capital in a bright pink Hummer to demonstrate that dating is more than just appearances, or a bad car.
A dating app that matches people based on their emotional connection to music has found that profile pictures posing with the car are the post off-putting to potential partners.
The dating app, POM, surveyed 2,000 UK singletons to reveal the top 10 profile pictures that are the biggest turn offs to possible love interests.
The research was conducted following the spike in discussion around ‘icks’ and ‘red flags’ online, to reveal the social media profile pictures that are the most likely to result in rejection.
The top 5 most most off-putting profile pictures as voted by British singletons are:
- Posing with a car
- Fish pics (someone posing with a fish they’ve caught)
- Heavily filtered pictures
- Taking pictures in the gym
- Pouting
You can see the full top 10 list and full survey results here: https://www.discoverpom.com/blog/step-away-from-the-car/
Other profile pictures that users dislike include, pictures covering half their face, pictures taken in a club and pictures with endangered animals.
In response to the survey findings, POM is launching a fun activation in the centre of London today (Monday 14th February) to celebrate Valentine’s Day for those flying solo. The activation will see singletons driving around the capital in a bright pink Hummer to show that dating is more than just appearances, or a bad car. In addition, commuters will be gifted roses and a ‘Singalong Speed Dating’ experience will take place in the one of a kind car.
When looking into specific demographics, 92% of those who found ‘car pictures’ unappealing were women. It was also discovered that taking pictures in the gym were also off-putting for women in particular, as over half (56%) of those surveyed agreed that it would reduce the chance of pursuing a relationship with someone.
In comparison, it found that men were particularly deterred by ‘heavily filtered pictures’ being used on social media, with almost three quarters (73%) agreeing it would put them off someone.
The survey from the dating app comes following the rise in discussions about common “icks” and red flags online. An ‘ick’ being something that’s a turn off when a person has initially a romantic interest in someone and a red flag being a warning sign of undesirable future behaviour. To ensure the study was representative, singletons from all genders, ages and sexual orientations ranging from ages between 18 and 55 took part in the survey.
POM harnesses the ‘Power of Music’, channelling it into an exciting, inclusive app to deliver genuine, meaningful connections based on a shared love of the same music. In a dating scene dominated by swipe-lefts and swipe-rights, POM likes to do things differently and matches users based on their music history and emotional responses. Quoted as “the app everyone is talking about”, the platform uses its data to curate a perfect end-to-end dating and social experience.
Vihan Patel, founder of POM, said: “Over the past year, ‘icks’ and red flags seem to be all that social media users can talk about, and a couple of months ago we set out to discover the most common icks among Brits. Following those findings and to continue to explore red flags in the dating world we decided to dive a bit deeper and discover how social media profiles can impact singletons’ views on prospective partners.
“We were intrigued to find out just how much your profile can influence someone’s opinion of you and it’s safe to say we were fairly amused by some of the turn offs that people mentioned - who knew a car pic could do so much damage to your dating life!”
