Dating app standards???

Seeking Advice

I finally got on the apps, accepting that I need to approach dating as intentionally as I have every other matter that I held in importance. I did all of the relevant research, and gave the profile the appropriate time and attention--which was a lot for me. Just doing the picture selection and writing the bio and prompts was a massive chore. But I did it, because, intentionality is the only way to success (or so the studies have concluded).

I have scrolled through perhaps a hundred or more profiles. Only about 20 of them had anything in the bio or prompts, and out of those, none were useful information. Literally 7 men had photos that showed their faces (always sunnies on, or group photos where I could not even tell who was the profile owner, or just 1 vague photo with their face half-hidden in a mirror selfie). Their info plainly shows deception (i.e. saying they go to the gym or putting some sport or other as an interest when they are plainly overweight? No shade on body differentiation, but then why claim something when the contrary is evident?), or just have some complaint, like, 'don't use me for money I am not your ATM' (not even spelled correctly, because people don't know the difference between a contraction and possessive pronoun anymore). And most egregiously, again except for a handful, all of them talked about sleeping as an interest or answer to the prompt? Not even sleeping together. Just, like, as a hobby? I get it, I love a good sleep as much as anyone; and sleep hygiene is paramount for health. But if they all just want to sleep, how can I compete with that?

This is Bumble and Tinder.

So, ladies and gents, asking for honest advice based on your experiences: Am I cooked on here?

Should I give it up?

Or is this just the normal human population I am wading through, and I should lower the bar way (way, way) down? And how am I supposed to make a decision off of what little information there is? Just hazard a guess?

Posted Sep 13, 2026, 6:23 AM UTC

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