These cross the pick-up line.
Dropping a one-liner on a prospective date might seem enticing, but it can often prove a romance repellent.
A recent survey of single people revealed the 30 worst messages to send a potential match — with “send pics” and the eggplant emoji ranking as the biggest turn-offs.
“It’s clear from the research that first impressions are so important, and so many people waste this on an awful opening messaging on a dating app which ends the spark before it’s even started,” said Marco van der Woude, cofounder of the dating app Breeze, which conducted the study, per Yahoo News. In accordance, he humanized Breeze by “removing the chat function and instead encouraging in-person meet-ups,” he explained.
Of the 2,000 British singletons surveyed, 45% deemed “send pics” as the rudest bit of banter, followed by the eggplant emoji with 45% (potentially because it’s a digital stand-in for a penis).
Sexually suggestive messages were also extremely offputting, per the poll. Ranking in third, fourth and fifth place were: “Hey, sexy, what’s your number?” (40%), “Do you like bad boys/girls?” “(38%) and replying “Without me?” when they say they’re going to shower (38%).
“You’re so hawt” and “You’re so sexy” came in fifth and sixth place, respectively, with 34% of respondents deeming those lines conversational kryptonite.
By a similar token, 34% of those surveyed also took issue with “phwoarr,” a British expression used to convey sexual attraction to someone.
Contrary to what pickup artists might claim, slinging cheeseball one-liners is a surefire way to stay solo, per the survey.
A third of respondents (34%) also balked at the eighth- and ninth-ranked lines: “Did it hurt when you fell from heaven?” and “I think my Spotify is broken. You’re not listed in the hottest singles.”
Here is the full list of the digital dating deterrents:
1. Send pics – 45%
2. Eggplant emoji – 44%
3. Hey sexy, what’s your number? – 40%
4. Do you like bad boys/girls? – 38%
5. Without me? (When you say you’re going to take a shower) – 38%
6. You’re so HAWT – 34%
7. Ur so sexy – 34%
8. Phwoarr – 34%
9. Did it hurt when you fell from heaven? – 34%
10. I think my Spotify is broken. You’re not listed in the hottest singles – 34%
11. What u wearing? – 33%
12. Does your mate on your profile pic have IG? – 32%
13. DTF? – 30%
14. Imagine what our children will look like – 29%
15. Heyyyyyy – 28%
16. I have serious co-dependency issues – 28%
17. Why are you single? – 27%
18. Tell me why I should go on a date with you? – 24%
19. You up? – 24%
20. Morning beautiful – 24%
21. Yours or mine? – 23%
22. Wassup? – 23%
23. You’re the girl/boy of my dreams – 23%
24. Can I add you on Insta/Snapchat? – 22%
25. I could get lost in your eyes – 20%
26. Wyd? – 19%
27. You’re the boy/girl of my dreams – 19%
28. Thanks for not unmatching me – 18%
29. Fire emoji — 16%
30. Dancer emojis – 16%
Of course, that wasn’t the only revelation revealed by the survey, which found that digital dating discourse can get quite tiresome.
A whopping 56% of respondents deemed messaging hard work while 40% said they were bored with it.
Meanwhile, those who want to escape the solo zone better rope in their romantic mark.
A staggering 89% of respondents said that a dull opening message pushes them to nip the convo in the bud, while just three dull texts made them lose interest entirely.
In general, less is more when it comes to messaging a romantic prospect.
Three-quarters (76%) of respondents admitted that they have lost interest in someone who messaged too much, while 63% wished they could skip the virtual chat and meet in person right away.
This trend might seem ironic given how enamored/addicted the younger generations appear to be with technology; however, even internet-addicted Gen Zers appear to be growing sick of trying to swipe their way out of singledom.
A recent study found that 90.24% of US daters aged 18 to 27 prefer to meet dates “at a social gathering, a bookstore, a local club or class, and other offline events and places.”
