If everyone was 100% truthful in their online dating profile, dating as we know it would end and humankind would stop procreating. The goal should be less lies, more selective editing. Present the best version of yourself instead of lying about your age, weight or multiple kids in various states.

The Internet is the information highway, but it's littered with half-truths, manipulated facts and photo-shopped images. That's just how it is -- human nature allowed to play in the dark.

 

When it comes to dating sites it only gets worse. Don't get me wrong, online dating can and does work. But it's also like shopping for chocolate at a supermarket specializing in bullsh*t. White lies? Sure go for it, but even white lies eventually get their day in the sun. And then what? You're left pretending for the next two years that... you're 6' 1" as opposed to 5' 6" and you're a direct descendant of the Medici Family.

 

Why bother?

People have stretched the truth in personal ads since Grak the caveman carved four buffalo instead of two on his cave wall kill tally and got busted. You would think we would have learned something since then. It's sad and self-defeating to attract people with lies; what's the satisfaction of attracting someone to a you that doesn't exist?

If anything, this article just proves that being full of CENSORED is just a part of the dating process. Oh, and that nobody intrinsically believes that who they are is good enough...or they'd already have somebody. I'm not a big fan of little white lies on dating profiles because if somebody bites and you've lied it seems that much more egregious because it's umprompted. You are actually just a liar. Or at least that's how it would look to me. However, if I just HAD to lie about something I'd totally lie up. (I'd also assume that our courtship wouldn't go further than a first date and me attempting with mucho gusto to get into a chick's pants pronto). I'd be a politically active, social media guru and rabblerouser who doesn't get the credit for taking down Enron because of the court settlement. I also gave Herman Cain his 9-9-9 plan since we went to the same undergrad and have access to him. Oh, and I'm 5'9" with the soul of a 6'4" warrior which makes me roughly 5'12 3/4". Yes, I think that is what I'd be.

I think it's a bad idea just because it sets the stage for mistrust.  If it comes out that you lied about your political affiliation, the first thing any smart person is going to think is "OK, so what else has this guy been lying about?"  Online dating is already so full of pitfalls it seems like lying is just setting yourself up for failure.

Then again, the article says it forces people to close the gap, so, that's something.

I like to claim I'm older, wrinklier and dumber online, so that the real me is a pleasant surprise. Under promise, over deliver!