Blind Dates Dead?

They say love is blind but these days there really is no such thing as a ‘blind’ date. The NIVEA MEN Clear Effect Study, conducted by Galaxy research, has uncovered the startling statistic that 87% of young Australian women admit to checking out a guy’s social media profile before going on a date, with women aged 18 – 22 year being the most likely to check out their prospective new mate online (91%).

The vast majority of young women (18–29 years old) are using social media these days, with Facebook still remaining the most popular site (94%). The introduction of dating apps such as Tinder, where possible dates cast split-second judgements rendering a man ‘hot’ or ‘not’ with a simple swipe to the left or right has meant the blind date has well and truly been superseded. Ranking high on the list of profile pic ‘must-haves’ is healthy looking skin. The majority of young women who check social media profiles (80%) consider it important for a guy to have healthy looking skin in their profile picture and the social media savvy 26-29 year old woman is the most likely to consider this as a predate mandatory (87%). Unfortunately it seems as though the old saying ‘beauty is only skin deep’ is becoming less relevant in this day and age, with these social medial sleuths indicating that seeing a profile pic of a guy with bad skin would put them off (62%), and apart from thinking they need to fix their skin (38%), 28% wouldn’t want to touch their face and 22% wouldn’t want to kiss them.

And it doesn’t stop there. Profile pics come under intense scrutiny not only by the woman considering a first date but more often than not by her network of ‘besties’ who are consulted closely in the decision making process. As many as 84% of those that check social media profiles have shown their ‘besties’ a pic of a prospective first date to get a second opinion before accepting the offer.

No stranger to the dating scene, Ali Oetjen who has previously appeared on the popular bachelor dating show says “I know that my girlfriends would definitely check out a guy online before going on a date with him. I often give advice to my besties before they say ‘yes’ or ‘no’. It’s so easy to find out a lot about a guy just by looking online. You have to be careful about the image you’re putting out there.“

When looking at social media profiles, women often snoop around to find out as much as possible about their prospective dates. Outside of having healthy looking skin, the most popular things to check for are whether they have a girlfriend already (81%), their occupation (74%) and if they have a good physique (42%). And of course, there are some pictures that a guy should definitely think twice about before posting – a guy having women draped all over them is a major turn off (81%) with naked photos (80%) and photos taken when a guy is very drunk (67%) rating high on the list of pictures that should never make it online.

Guys – thanks to the NIVEA MEN Clear Effect Study you have been warned! With the explosion of online dating options and social networks allowing potential mates to scrutinise every photo, it’s now more important than ever for Aussie men to take control of their profile.

As the number one men’s skin care brand worldwide*, NIVEA MEN understands the needs of the modern gentleman. With potential dates, employers and flatmates all likely to check you out online before you’ve even met, NIVEA MEN products give men the chance to take control and put their best profile forward.