Online Love: Dyslexics Need Not Apply?
I have said for a while now that spelling and grammar are really very important when it comes to online dating but now there is evidence to back up this claim of mine.
Zoe Hazelwood a psychologist working at the Queensland University of Technology recently fronted research which found that use of grammar and spelling capabilities are often central when deciding if someone from a dating website would make a suitable, real life date. It is not necessarily the words that appear on the chat windows of dating websites that are being analyzed but rather, the ways in which the words are presented.
“Although online traditional non-verbal cues are not present, in our research we found people do judge potential partners on things aside from what they are saying [¦] including spelling errors, use of acronyms, amount of exclamation marks, use of grammar – things like that” she commented.
Hazelwood said that those who frequent online dating sites were not likely to pursue deeper relationships with those who have a typing style that they do not like.
I personally hate it when someone that I am conversing with online uses the acronym “LOL” (laugh out loud) too much there’s no way that anyone I am talking to finds me quite THAT funny! In a similar vein, I get aggravated by the over use of smilies but this is probably because I am particularly keen on men who can express themselves well using the English language.
Does this mean that anyone suffering with learning difficulties shouldn’t look for love on the internet? Don’t be silly! If you apologise from the beginning for your less than perfect spelling and/or grammar abilities and you do actually make a little effort with the etiquette of your typing, then you stand an equal chance to anyone else using the website!
The professor was very pleased also to see from her study that dating online is popular across a wide spectrum of ages; over 50s dating is just as populated as the number of those in their early 20s dating online!
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