Video Dating Will Be The Way To Look For Love In 2018—Here’s Why

If you’re put off by dating apps, at least try video dating before you call it quits for good. The introduction of video snippets or actual live conversations on dating apps promises to make it easier to gauge if you and the cute guy you’re chatting to have a real connection worth exploring in RL. A great example is Coffee Meets Bagel, a dating app that has a video feature enabling users to answer various questions in eight-second video recordings. Here’s why video dating is worth a shot this year.

  1. It gives you more to go on. You can see a guy’s body language, which can tell you loads about him. This often gets totally ignored on dating apps, but can really make or break a potential date. For instance, he might seem to be confident during texting, meanwhile, his hunched shoulders or shaky voice in a video will tell you otherwise.
  2. You can hear his voice. How he speaks is important! A Match study found that 72 percent of singles think a person’s voice can make them attractive. It’s so true! If you can hear his voice right off the bat, it can make it easier to decide if you should go on a RL date with him or not. Who wants to date a guy who speaks with a sarcastic tone all the time (so annoying!) or has a strange, squeaky voice?
  3. It prevents catfishing. Look, fake guys will always find ways to con you, but you can protect yourself a bit more with video dating. If you can see the guy in a video chat, you can make sure he lives up to his profile and model-type pictures, which can prevent you from getting catfished.
  4. You don’t fall prey to filters. Anyone can look good in a dating app picture, thanks to filters and Photoshop. Video dating helps to cut out all that appearance BS so you get a more realistic idea of what the guy looks like—as long as he’s in a well-lit room and not wearing sunglasses, though!
  5. You gauge your chemistry. He might seem perfect for you via text, but it’s a totally different story when you actually talk to the guy. Video dating is almost like a RL date, but without you having to spend time, gas, and money to go see him.
  6. You’re alerted to red flags. If you suggest a video chat but the guy just doesn’t want to have one, that’s a red flag. What’s he hiding? This can show you that he’s dodgy and save you the trouble of meeting up with him.
  7. It keeps you safe. Chatting to a guy via video can give you a bit more insight into his character, and your gut will alert you to anything that seems dodgy AF. This can be a valuable weapon because you’ll avoid meeting up with a guy who seemed perfect in his dating profile but acted weird or gave you a strange vibe in a video. You’ll dodge dangerous or dodgy men much easier than before.
  8. It’s harder to lie. In a guy’s dating profile, he can tell you the biggest load of BS, from where he’s traveled to what job he currently has. When you get a chance to ask him questions in a live video chat, he doesn’t get the opportunity to prepare his answers, so you get a more genuine response—and you can tell if his story’s a load of BS.
  9. You make it more personal, without resorting to social media. You want to get a better idea about the guy but you haven’t reached the level of intimacy where you’re friending each other on Facebook or giving him your Instagram handle. That feels too hectic for a guy you’ve just swiped right on. Video dating is the perfect pitstop before social media, helping you get more personal without giving away any personal information just yet.
  10. You see annoying quirks. It sounds picky, but the guy might have some weird or annoying quirks that would put you completely off him in RL. Maybe he keeps clearing his throat when he talks or he has a monotone voice that can put you to sleep, or he has a creepy laugh. You have a right to see his quirks before you meet in RL, and that’s why video dating can be so good.
  11. Look, the more info the better! Video dating isn’t guaranteed to give you amazing dating success. Even if you’re having great video conversations with the guy, he might still not be the right guy for you. That’s life. But there’s no doubt video dating will help to give you more info about guys so you can make better dating decisions and not waste your time.
  12. You might be able to weed out the cheats. A guy who’s got a GF and is cruising through dating apps probably won’t want to put video snippets of himself out there or have video chats with other women. He might not be using his real photo or name, after all. So hopefully, a feature like video dating will make it a little harder for cheaters to get away with their behavior.
Giulia Simolo is a writer from Johannesburg, South Africa with a degree in English Language and Literature. She has been working as a journalist for more than a decade, writing for sites including AskMen, Native Interiors, and Live Eco. You can find out more about her on Facebook and LinkedIn, or follow her on Twitter @GiuliaSimolo.
close-link
close-link