As the number of online users of dating services is expected to reach 277 million by 20241, AI-powered writing assistant, ProWritingAid (https://prowritingaid.com/), has today released findings into consumers’ attitudes towards the use of grammar on online dating platforms across the UK and the US. Also this research can help you get a date on Valentine’s Day.
The large-scale research commissioned by ProWritingAid surveyed 5,000 UK consumers and 7,500 US consumers. Alongside this, live profiles were run to compare the success of profiles with and without grammatical mistakes, using the same images. This resulted in some interesting findings:
- 63% of women say grammar is important and this matched with our live profiles experiment, with women matching 59% more with profiles containing good grammar vs profiles with grammatical mistakes
- 53% of men say that grammar is important, but our experiment found that men actually matched 10% less with profiles containing correct grammar over those with grammatical mistakes
Looking deeper into the research, women aged between 18 and 34 are 311% more likely to connect with someone demonstrating good grammar. Even in older age groups, men are likely to get a 39% better chance by using good grammar on their profiles.
Chris Banks, CEO of ProWritingAid, comments: “Our hypothesis was that well-written, grammatically correct profiles would be marginally more attractive to daters, but the results didn’t show that at all! For one thing, women vastly preferred well-written profiles over poorly written ones. Men got 311% more matches if they used good grammar in their profiles. But, on the other hand, men seemed to prefer profiles that are badly written. Do men feel intimidated by women with good grammar? Or do they think they have a better chance with poorly written profiles? The answer is anyone’s guess, but it does show definitively that grammar has a significant effect on match rates…for better or worse!”
Fiona, Company Co-Founder
“You have a successful profession, your own house, and a polished appearance; guys just aren’t interested in pursuing a relationship with someone who seems to have their life together.
I had approached a male friend for help after becoming sick of being alone, and although I wasn’t surprised by his advice, it nevertheless brought me to tears when he said that guys don’t approach me because they’re afraid of me.
When I highlighted some of my accomplishments over dinner or drinks, I saw the expression in their eyes, and it was a huge turn off. I had become everything I wanted in a man: financially secure, in charge of my emotions, and successful in my career.
So far this year, I’ve joined Tinder last December, gone on a few dates, and experimented with my simplified dating persona. I’m still myself; I simply don’t brag about my Doctor’s degree, my headlines in big journals, my own apartment, or my heater repair skills.
When people encourage me to “create a blog,” “write for their friend’s start-up newspaper for free to earn some exposure,” or “get into the whole Instagram thing,” I nod and smile politely and think to myself, “Maybe you’re right.”
When I brag about anything I’ve accomplished, I receive a disappointed expression or a blitz of their accomplishments in a hostile effort to show that they, too, are competent.”
Bonnie, Human Resources Director
“Before I met my life partner, who loves me for who I am and is not insecure about my accomplishments, I used to downplay my achievements in my dating site bio for fear of emasculating or driving away any interested males.
I have been working at FDG for quite some time now and I have made many contributions to the company’s success But when I started looking for love online, it was hard to find anyone who could appreciate these achievements without going overboard with praise or being afraid of me because they thought I was too accomplished.
When I initially met someone on a dating site, they were so preoccupied with how much money I made that they couldn’t focus on what we had in common—which was actually quite a lot.
Later, another guy told me he was terrified by my profession and felt unworthy of me because he hadn’t accomplished anything yet. He didn’t realise that success doesn’t always mean receiving a promotion or making more money; it can also mean just finding fulfillment in your profession and doing what makes you happy.
But then I met Clyde, and he taught me that there is no shame in being a strong woman who has accomplished much in her life. He encouraged me to be proud of what I’ve accomplished so far, and we’ve been together ever since.”
Online daters can check whether their dating profile is grammatically on point by visiting https://prowritingaid.com/grammar-and-dating-profiles. ProWritingAid will flag dating clichés, as well as spelling or grammar mistakes to ensure their profile stands out from the crowd.
