Do Your Research, Ladies: Why Social Media Is The Best Screening Process For Potential Relationships
So, you successfully navigated the bar scene and scored yourself a hot date for the upcoming week. You casually exchange phone numbers and later, a few texts. But, the most important component of the spontaneous introduction is an online search. You need his full name (just tell him you have multiple "Alvins" in your phone when you’re getting his number).
The next step is social media: Facebook, Twitter and Instagram stalking (or just simply, research). If you say you don’t do it, you’re a liar. With social media at our fingertips at all times, we would be idiots not to take advantage and ensure that our dates aren't total tools. Maybe it’s a loose screening process, but there are quite a few things you can learn about somebody by checking out his social media pages. Check out these five important ways to stalk before you date:
1. Page Activity: This may be the most important because it sheds the most light on what he is and isn’t doing. If he’s posting all day, he may have no friends, no job or may just be addicted to social media. If he only posts about the healthy food and how many times a day he is going to the gym, he is clearly overcompensating for something…
Fine, post an accomplishment, but no one cares if you ate chicken and broccoli with your protein shake for the fourth night in a row. If he posts mostly pictures, it probably means he is pretty social, but make sure to take a good gander at the types of pictures posted.
2. Photos: If he has an overwhelming number of selfies on his pages, he’s self-absorbed. And by “way too many selfies,” I mean more than one. Shirtless photos are also unacceptable (unless maybe at the beach).
It’s probably a bad sign if different women surround him in his photos. Is he trying to give off a pimp vibe or communicate that any girl is replaceable? Partying and being social is totally fine, but it isn’t attractive if his timeline is clogged with drunken photos. On the contrary, photos with dogs and family members are a huge plus.
3. Timeline: This is where you can discover how he interacts with his friends. Do people check in with him often? If so, his friends want to stay in touch with him — a good sign. People care about him. Does his mom comment on every single picture he posts? Maybe this doesn’t say anything about him directly, but good to know where he stands with his mom. These types of questions are all very important to consider.
4. The “About Me” and “Liked Pages”: This offers the closest information to what you would be able to discover on a personal page from Match.com. This is where you will find out if you have common interests like music, movies or television shows. Sure, you can learn this information throughout multiple dates, but why not get a head start?
5. Followers: If he follows more than two porn stars — there’s a problem.
These rules also apply to the opposite sex. Work to make all of your social media profiles portray who you actually are. If you think no one is stalking your profile, you’re delusional. Get a hold of your brand, people! And, happy stalking!
Photo credit: Shutterstock
