Too smart for swipes?
A glamorous aerospace engineer says she received zero matches on her dating-app profile when she listed her high-flying occupation — but found potential paramours flooding in when she removed information about her brainy career.
Caroline Hamilton Smith, 26, made the claim in an interview with Australian radio show “The Hook Up,” with the program’s hosts pondering whether men are turned off by intelligent women.
“I think I started off with ‘aerospace engineer’ on my profile. And then more recently, I put ‘Ph.D. in energy harvesting on aircraft,’ and zero matches,” Hamilton Smith explained.
The brainy blonde added other interests — including fixing up vintage cars and bikes — but no men seemed interested.
“[I’m] a girl who can help you build your vintage bike. I would assume that I would attract guys — but I got none of it, ever. I got no likes,” she said.
However, Hamilton Smith has started having more success since deleting information about her occupation.
“I’ve [now] changed all of my prompts to just stupid, funny things that have nothing to do with me. All of my pictures are just photos with friends, and I’m not particularly showing off in any respect,” she stated. “Now, the rate of my matches has increased a lot. I just don’t know why I have to lie.”
The hosts of “The Hook Up” asked anonymous men whether Hamilton Smith’s occupation was a turnoff, with several revealing why they wouldn’t want to match with her.
“First thing that comes to my mind is this girl sounds like she’d be working 10 hours a day, 6 days a week and would not have time for a relationship,” one stated.
Another explained: “We’re [men] taught that our value comes from what we can provide. We’re thinking, ‘Why would this amazing woman settle for me?’ “
A third person similarly claimed that Hamilton Smith has “priced herself out of the market” and that men might be intimidated by her earning capacity if they want to be the primary provider.
Meanwhile, one dating-app user said they thought Hamilton Smith’s profile was too good to be true, claiming they didn’t think the stunning blonde could be pursuing a Ph.D.
“It seems like a fake profile,” the anonymous man stated.
Dating app users often make snap judgments about the jobs listed on other people’s profiles.
Back in 2017, dating app Badoo analyzed user data to determine that certain occupations are more appealing than others to the opposite sex.
Women who worked as psychotherapists, chefs, doctors, entrepreneurs and nurses were seen as “sexiest” by men — seemingly refuting “The Hook Up” hypothesis that men are intimidated by brainy, successful women.
However, it’s not just jobs that cause people to make assumptions about others.
Dating-app photos are also considered crucial in projecting a proper image, with a recent study revealing that men who fill their Tinder profiles with shirtless pictures are perceived as less competent and more promiscuous.
