TIL 81% of online daters lie about their height, weight, or age

Finding love online has been big business since there was such a thing as “online”. The internet has empowered people to tear down whatever walls had prevented them in the past from finding the right person and has expanded the possibilities of dating for millions.

Unfortunately, the industry is loaded with problems. One of the biggest ones is lying. A good majority of people who utilize online dating will lie about at least one of three major attributes: height, weight, and age. In the old world of hanging out at singles bars, the only question that couldn’t be answered in a glance was age. Otherwise, it was easy to make a rough estimate of height and weight.

Those days are behind us. Today, appropriately-positioned camera angles and (gulp) Photoshop make it possible to enhance our images. It could be in hopes of earning the date where one’s personality can kick in and win love. In the case of weight, it could be wishful thinking. Regardless of the reason, it’s hard to know if the information on the screen matches the reality of the potential lover.

This graphic depicts this and other challenges that surround the truths of online dating.