What is your profile picture really saying?

After “dark months of data mining,” an “OkCupid” reporter divulged the information he found with the rest of the world. Here it is. Women, if your online dating profile, whether it be with MySpace, Facebook, or the seemingly unlimited other dating sights, is having trouble getting responses, maybe you had better switch your picture to the “MySpace shot.” Men, take off your shirts if you want women to reply to your queries … if you have the abs to pull it off.
The “MySpace shot,” according to the report, consists of  “holding your camera above your head and being just so darn coy” for women, and showing off your six-pack generated best results for men.
Somebody actually spent hours sifting through information, such as how many messages on average a male with a type of profile pictures sent out for each response he got, and how many messages a woman with a type of profile could expect when she had a certain type of profile picture.
It’s amazing the lengths people go to uncover the truth about trivial things such as this, not that these results can’t be interesting or useful if someone is into the online dating scene. Here are some of the results. Women get the best results by having a “flirty face” and smiling while looking directly into the camera, and men do best not smiling and not looking into the camera with smiling and not looking into the camera a close second. Both sexes do worst when not looking into the camera and having a flirty face (the author of the study suggested that if you’re going to be flirting with somebody than it had better be the person who’s looking at the picture.) Women also did not do well when they didn’t smile.
As mentioned before, the abs shot and the “MySpace shot” worked well, and self-taken photos also generated more conversation. Photos with animals worked well for males as well as “doing something interesting.” Far behind the “MySpace shot” for women were pictures taken while they were in bed or outdoors. Another interesting aspect is that showing your face isn’t necessarily important in getting responses. The column showed pictures of a man scuba diving and a woman with her legs tied up, and both were successful in getting responses. Apparently if there is something interesting happening in the picture the face isn’t all-important
So if you’re looking to boost online dating success, go ahead and try these methods, or look up the article “The 4 Big Myths of Profile Pictures” on OkCupid.com. If you are tired of seeing the typical girl taking the high angle shot with the pursed lips or the guy with his shirt off showing the world his six-pack, just know that they are doing it because it works.
Has society been enriched due to this study? Have we really learned anything about human nature from this study? Maybe, maybe not. But what can be learned from the study is that there are no limits to where and what people study, whether they serve any purpose or have any scientific value.