Chris Higgins
OkCupid Analyzes Online Dating Data; Surprising Conclusions Revealed
by Chris Higgins - January 22, 2010 - 5:20 PM

OkCupid Graph

The online dating website OkCupid has performed a statistical analysis of the photos their users post, in order to study patterns. Which types of photos result in the most dates, for which types of people? Does it help to show off your body, or to look interesting? How do users’ representation of themselves change as they age? You can view the results here.

For example, if you’re a man, does posting a photo showing off your totally ripped 6-pack abs help generate responses? The answer is yes, but the effect declines dramatically with age, as presumably do the abs — by age 31, a man’s photo showing abs has nearly the same effectiveness as any photo of the man with a shirt on; but at age 19 an ab photo is more than twice as effective. Even more interesting are the results that contradict conventional wisdom about how online dating works — for example, conventional wisdom says that you should use a high-quality camera, not a webcam or cell phone, to take your picture. But the data show that better quality pictures aren’t more effective — in fact, self-shot cell phone/web cam photos in general are more successful than those shot by someone else. Most interestingly, the canonical “MySpace Shot” (a photo taken of oneself by holding the camera above one’s head and gazing coyly into it) is “the single most effective photo type for women.” And not just a little more popular — the MySpace Shot DESTROYS all other contexts analyzed by OkCupid (the other contexts were “in bed,” “outdoors,” “travel photo”, “having fun with friends,” “doing something interesting,” “drinking alcohol,” and “posing with an animal”).

It’s not often that we get a look at the data behind online dating success. If you’re looking for a fun read on a dreary Friday afternoon, check out The 4 Big Myths of Profile Pictures to learn what actually works. For the record, I met my girlfriend via OkCupid, and there were no abs nor MySpace Shots involved, so I guess there’s still hope for the rest of us.

Further reading: Online Dating Site Reveals Rules for “First Contact” Derived From Data; and the OkCupid Blog.

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Comments (12)

  1. I just can’t bring myself to pose for a “myspace” photo…too cheeseball for me, and likewise. I tend to be turned off by myspace photo’s when looking at someone else.

    posted by holly on 1-22-2010 at 7:57 pm

  2. Interesting. I think those types of photos are silly. I do love OkCupid, though, since that’s where I met my husband. :)

    posted by Krie on 1-22-2010 at 9:40 pm

  3. Also met my husband on OkCupid (met over 3 years ago). I believe we both had mostly outdoors and having fun with friends pictures.

    posted by catherine ann on 1-22-2010 at 10:56 pm

  4. My fiancé and I met on OkCupid as well (I really believe it’s the dating site of the geekier half of the population) and we both had normal profile pictures. Actually, his was not that great of a picture, as it was just after he’d gotten out of AF Basic–he had this buzz cut that did not suit him at all.

    posted by nutmeag on 1-23-2010 at 12:38 am

  5. This is so disheartening. Though I’m wondering if the quality of men also decreases with a higher number of MySpace photos?

    I’ve met some amazing guys on OKC (one of whom was completely not geeky, which surprised me) and never had a MySpace picture. There is hope for us yet.

    posted by Debbie on 1-23-2010 at 6:02 am

  6. As a guy I won’t message a girl who has one of those weird angle myspace shots unless they have some regular photos that you can actually clearly see what they look like.

    posted by adam on 1-23-2010 at 3:27 pm

  7. From a psychologically assumptive point of view, a girl willing to use a camera to make herself appear more alluring has the added effect of appearing more adventurous in bed and more open to rapid intimacy.

    posted by Rob on 1-23-2010 at 6:40 pm

  8. Just adding that my boyfriend (of nearly four years) and I also met on OKCupid, without the use of MySpace photos or ab-baring pictures. My photo was actually of the \having fun with friends\ variety.

    posted by Amy on 1-24-2010 at 8:43 pm

  9. Too bad you can’t quantify “douchiness.”

    There’s something inherently douchey about a “MySpace photo,” and since the main thing d-bags do is hook up with OTHER d-bags, a “douchebag quotient” could really go a long way towards explaining the (apparent) success of such photos.

    What would be interesting is to see which MEN contacted the MySpace photo people, and what types of photos THEY posted. I’ll bet you’d find it skews towards “ab shots,” which is actually far douchier than a MySpace photo. Life is just one big Axe commercial, eh?

    posted by clint on 1-25-2010 at 8:13 am

  10. In my opinion, there is nothing more egotistical than the “ab picture”. You obviously think far too highly of yourself!

    posted by KayTee on 1-25-2010 at 10:00 am

  11. I met my husband on OK Cupid, too! I think we both had outdoor photos, so we we spoke each others visual language, I guess.

    posted by Mary on 2-16-2010 at 4:01 pm

  12. If you actually read the OKC article, it finds that while the “MySpace Shot” garners more initial contacts, it fails at the meaningful ones. The most successful photos for continued conversations are still the “doing something interesting” shots.

    Just goes to show all you successful OKC grads did it right with your outdoors/activity shots!

    posted by Anna on 2-28-2010 at 5:27 pm

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