Breaking Lockdown And Messy Rooms: These Are The Biggest Dating Turn-Offs Right Now

The rules of dating have certainly changed in the last two months.

Updated on14th May 2020 at 2.30pm

We’ve all been guilty of it at this point. You’re in bed messaging a new crush, you’ve not showered all day and your hair hasn’t seen a brush in God knows how long. You’re dropping food on your week-old pyjamas as the 800th Netflix show you’ve watched that day plays in the background.

Suddenly, a video call request comes through and you freeze. They think they’re talking to the put-together, funny and intelligent you that mastered the art of combining a sexy picture with a hilarious Hinge prompt for the most endearing profile. You see your reflection in the video request and… that is certainly not who they’re talking to right now.

You wouldn’t be wrong to quickly decline with a ‘Oh sorry, just on another call!’ (what else can you say at this point?!) because, according to new research, being a dishevelled (hot) mess is a major turn off in online dating right now.

That’s right, data from Flawless.org – who surveyed 18-50 year olds - found that 67% of people said ‘looking dishevelled’ as their biggest dating turn off right now and 72% listed ‘having a messy room’ as their biggest peeve.

To be fair, looking a mess may have always been a major turn off in any dating world. But the fact we actually have to clarify that now says a lot. Have we all descended into 24/7 dishevelment, so much so we don’t even think to put a fresh shirt on for a virtual date? I can answer that for you, yes.

37% of people admitting to inviting someone to theirs for a date.

The largest dating turn-off is a welcome surprise given recent reports: breaking lockdown rules. A massive 91% of people listed it as their main repeller – although 37% of people admitting to inviting someone to theirs for a date. Other turn offs include overusing emojis, only talking about themselves and using SMS language.

When arranging a virtual date, 63% were put off by lateness – with 31% experiencing it – which makes sense given we essentially have no real excuse to be late for any sort of virtual meet-up anymore. But when it comes to the calls themselves, eye-contact also seems to be key, with 35% of people turned off by those who don’t maintain it.

It’s an intriguing insight into successfully dating online. Whereas we might usually let online etiquette slide and chance a meet-up with the promise of a better in-person connection, the fact our virtual profiles are the only thing people can go off right now seems to have drastically changed our dating standards.

And while you might think expecting someone to at least clean their room is a bare-minimum standard, this research notes that 61% of people believe they’ve increased their standards when it comes to dating.

Perhaps this means all of these rules are more cut-throat than ever. Don’t have a sock in the background of your video call or a hair out of place lest you be immediately blocked post-call. Now, with surges in members on almost every dating app, there really are plenty of fish in the sea ready to take your place… and they might even use less emojis than you.

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