Cuffing season is here, folks! That means it's time to fire up your phones and get to swiping. Love it or hate it, online dating is pretty much the method of meeting any and all attractive strangers these days. And if the stars align perfectly, you can definitely find your soulmate — or you know, just someone decently cool.
But let’s face it: For all its convenience, online dating can be a minefield of B.S. Like all web-based platforms, dating websites and apps are full of imposters, bots, and other unsavory types who make a sport of wasting your time. You know what I'm talking about — the serial ghosters, the "all-talk-no-action" crowd, the people with lengthy lists of things their mate shouldn't be, and so much more.
We're committed to helping you fight that B.S., just like Vital Farms is committed to cutting through the B.S. of egg labeling. The eggs from Vital Farms hens are Certified Humane® pasture-raised, with each hen getting 108 square feet to roam free and do what they please. That's in contrast to cage-free hens, which often only get 1 sq foot of space to roam. (Talk about some B.S.).
So before you jump into the decidedly polluted online dating pool, we've teamed up with Vital Farms to assemble a series of tips to help you cut right through the B.S. so a new adventure can roam freely into your life.
1. Find Your Flock
Birds of a feather flock together, and the online dating world is, shall we say, highly differentiated. Are you religious? There exists a dating site that will match you with someone of your same denomination. Are you a dog lover? Find other dog lovers through a dog-lovers-only site. Do you actively run a hen farm? You guessed it — there’s an app that will help you find other hen farmers! If you have a particular passion that you'd like your special someone to share, save yourself a lot of time and trouble and find the dating site that caters to that experience.
2. Be Honest, Not Aspirational
When it comes to filling out your online dating profile, cutting through the B.S. starts at home! If your goal is a relationship, then you have to start by allowing anyone looking on your profile to get a sense of who you really are. That goes for physical characteristics, actual favorite hobbies — not that supposedly fun thing you did once for the sake of a great selfie — and for what kind of relationship you’re looking for. Represent yourself online like the Vital Farms cartons represent the way their happy hens are raised— with plenty of room to be their natural chicken selves. If you do that, you'll be golden!
3. Expand Your Horizons
Especially with the bottomless pool, online dating sites make it tempting to construct a Frankenstein’s monster of traits and attributes that collectively constitute your dream date. Keep in mind that some of the strongest couples are those who caught each other by surprise. And while you might have a "type" that you tend to stick to, be open to people from different backgrounds and with different interests. Just like switching up a hens' diet from industrial feed to incorporate ground-grown treats like Vital Farms does, switching up your romance diet could have serious benefits.
4. Don’t Stay Cooped Up
You can easily stay on an app for weeks, having conversation after conversation that never results in an actual date. This is a comfort in and of itself, but also totally frustrating. To avoid staying cooped up in the "almost went on a date" limbo, nail down a rendezvous with your match as early into the convo as you can. Engage in a little banter, and once you have a feel for the person, put a hang-out on the calendar! Don't be afraid of being bold. A match means they're already into it.
5. Trust Your Instincts
While maintaining an open mind is key, so is going with your gut. If someone's profile gives you not great vibes (i.e. an endless list of negative qualifiers, someone who describes their first interest as "fitness," someone who simply seems too good to be true) they're probably not worth meeting IRL. Your instincts are all you’ve got when you search for dates online, so make sure you pay careful attention to any red flags.
6. Do A Low-Key Background Check
Just like you do your homework to find out where your eggs are coming from, there's no shame in your P.I. game when it comes to romantic matters. When you find a seemingly real person with whom you’d like to connect with offline, we all love to do some quick online research. Various social media sites can corroborate some personal details, and even may also contain an image of their face from another angle. This kind of searching is to be done sparingly, and only in the beginning, just to make sure you know who you're (ahem) getting into bed with.
This article is sponsored by Vital Farms, with all their eggs come from Certified Humane® pasture-raised hens. Learn more about their B.S. free eggs and message here!
