Dating online recommendations: It’s a shame not every dating website or app takes the time to truly get to know you and help you in your online dating journey. That’s why, at EliteSingles, we are dedicated to matching like-minded American singles with long-term compatibility in mind. As a result, our extensive personality test contains over 200 questions in order to create a comprehensive and accurate profile of you. The questions are based on the psychological Five Factor Model developed by Robert McCrae and Paul Costa and calculate your levels of neuroticism, agreeableness, extraversion, conscientiousness, and openness. These factors are then used to match members with similar traits in order to create the best chance of forming a long-term connection. We want to unite American singles who both complement and enhance one another, and we are able to do so effectively by using this system.

Why does a man have to text a pic of his penis when “Hello” would suffice? One possible explanation, offered by Justin Lehmiller, PhD, research fellow at the Kinsey Institute and author of Tell Me What You Want, is that men tend to overestimate the sexual interest of women they casually encounter, so they may assume the “gift” will be welcome. And if they occasionally get a positive response, they may figure it can’t hurt to try again. “In psychology research, we call this a ‘variable reinforcement schedule,'” Lehmiller says. “It’s like a slot machine—the majority of the time, you pull the lever and nothing happens, but every once in a while, there’s a payoff.” A deflating solution from one online dater: “Draw a face on it and send it back to him.”

You shouldn’t do this offline either, of course, but the temptation to fantasize can be even greater when you’ve met someone online. After all, in his profile he claimed to be looking for a relationship (and why would he be online unless he really wanted to meet someone?) What more do you need? Answer: a lot. Sometimes we get so tired of dating that we just want to be done with it, rush into the next thing: the relationship. But getting too attached too soon is often the worst thing that can happen to a budding connection. It tends to dampen flirtation or scares off your counterpart. After a few dates, you are still getting to know each other, no matter how perfect he or she seems. To become too attached suggests that you are projecting a fantasy onto the other person.

Some online dating profiles read like shopping lists. They’re looking for someone with brown eyes, short hair, between 5’10” and 6’, from west London, and so on. These lists are off-putting for two reasons. First, they make the writer sound like a control freak. Second, they sound like an exact description of the writer’s ex. Don’t even think about posting a dating advert without a photo. A picture-less ad says: “I am so ugly I didn’t want to risk a photo,” “I am married,” or “I am on the run from Broadmoor.” See more info on online dating here.

“When building your profile and looking for potential dates, your mindset should follow what you’d like the outcome to be. Whether you’re looking for a long-term relationship, a hookup, or something in between, let your mind consider the result you wish to achieve so that your profile vocabulary and tone match.” —Sunny Rodgers, ACS, clinical sexologist and certified sexual health educator. “Be entirely yourself rather than projecting a more muted version of yourself. The more that you show your personality, the more the other person gets an idea of what a relationship with you would be like. You might as well jump in immediately!” —Gabrielle Alexa, sex and dating writer.