Do You Have Any of These “Icky” Things on Your Dating App Profile?

A tweet posted last week by a gay man in the UK has gone viral. It was concerned with what people write in their dating app profile bios. George, 24, listed some of the things that gave him the “ick” (British slang for making someone feel sick, or considered cringeworthy).

“Tinder bios that give me the biggest ick,” he began, before listing some lines that triggered him:

“Last time I was somebody’s type I was giving blood 😂✌🏼”

“Promise I’m not as moody as I look 🙈”

“Looking for someone to share the bills and wardrobe space with 😊”

“OWN HOUSE 🏡 OWN CAR 🚗”

George invited others to add to the list and the replies came flooding in. Here are just a few of the more common ones.

“give me a reason to delete this app”

— 🍂kieran🍂 (@wa11fl0wer) August 9, 2023

“Don’t be boring” and their idea of a conversation is just “hi wuu2? Nm”

— Cass ✨ (@_ACasso) August 8, 2023

“looking for my nick” or “just want someone to watch heartstopper with” gross gross gross

— harry (@_hxrrybxtt) August 8, 2023

“I’m [insert height] if that matters”

— Gage (@justgayge) August 9, 2023

-Has pics of themselves with guns 🚩🚩🚩
-Moderate or “not political” 🚩🚩
-“Just a regular/average guy” (go girl, give us nothing… 🙄🥱)
-All or most pics are gym selfies
-Makes “traveling” their personality
-Uses Snapchat filters in multiple pics or pics are clearly doctored

— Pokéntomologist 🪲🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️ (@Pokentomologist) August 9, 2023

“Sane and sorted”, usually anything but.

— tom (@after1aughter) August 8, 2023

Just thought of another one “I need a plus one to my cousin’s wedding”

— 🍂kieran🍂 (@wa11fl0wer) August 9, 2023

pls the worst is “I DONT BITE UNLESS YOU WANT ME TO”

— ihsan (@ihsnzlkfle) August 9, 2023

“Sane and sorted. Expect the same”
It just screams “I’ve never assessed my mental well-being and I don’t want to”

— Glen Coco (@Ididot_Glen) August 9, 2023

‘Straight acting, looking for same’. I’d rather someone authentic than someone who has to act a certain way.

— EdwardSkylover (@JoKrona) August 9, 2023

“Weirdest thing I’m attracted to: men”

“Looking for someone sane and sorted”

“I like people who don’t take life too seriously”

“I know the best place for: bottomless brunch” (not bad per se, just way too overused imo)

— Callum Stephen (He/Him) (@AutisticCallum_) August 9, 2023

The responses went on and on. It would appear the lines that really get under the skin are people proclaiming they’re “sane and sorted”, or who list their height and then add “if that matters”.

“So many people just seem to copy and paste what they think is funny”

It should be stressed, you can put whatever you wish on your dating app bio. One person’s “ick” could be someone else’s “cute”. If something you say turns someone else off, consider it a useful filter.

The original poster told INTO that his original post was meant lightheartedly and he was very surprised with the response it triggered.

“I think it’s a ‘topic’ that spills out beyond just the LGBTQ community, to be honest,” he said, noting many heterosexual women responded.

“But I guess I wasn’t really expecting it to gain any leverage. It was more just a bit of fun. I think it’s a bit difficult to write bios in general. I struggle at the best of times, but I think that so many people just seem to copy and paste what they think is funny or quirky and it comes off as being a bit cringeworthy instead of getting the right attention.”

He also conceded that for many people, what others state on their bio is often secondary to what they look like.

“I think bios as a whole are a bit obsolete. We kind of live in a world where people tend to go for looks anyway. I think people who say they don’t care about looks aren’t really telling the truth. I think I’d rather someone just didn’t have a bio instead of writing one that is really superficial and intended to be ‘funny’ when we’ve seen it all about three swipes to the left prior.”

What to put on your dating app profile

We suspect most people would agree: good, clear photos are a priority on apps, such as Tinder, Grindr, or Bumble.

Bios can indeed be hard to write. It’s a good idea to run anything you write by a couple of close friends to ask them for their honest opinion. Does it represent you? Is it appealing? They might be able to chip in with other suggestions.

Dating apps are big business. Dating app revenue was estimated to exceed more than $5 billion worldwide in 2021. Around one in five people who are online in the US are on a dating app, with a further 27% saying they have been on one, but don’t still have a profile. A report from 2020 said LGBTQ+ adults are twice as likely to be on dating apps compared to their straight peers.

Related:

No Matter the Age, Queer Folks Are on Dating Apps

Queer people will continue to date and create community, whether it takes place face-to-face or over mobile devices. 

Dating App HER Is Giving Us Goosebumps With Their ‘GaySMR’