Social media plays an immense role in our lives today. Billions of people use it for everything from keeping up with their friends to reading the news. Social media also has an impact on how we date. If you meet someone in person, or even on an online dating app, and agree to a date, there is a good chance you will check them out on social media beforehand.
This can help you learn their interests, their hobbies and generally give you a better understanding of who they are. Also, in addition to using it to learn about people you’ve met, it can also be used to meet people in the first place. For example, you can check out this step-by-step guide for dating on TikTok to learn more about how to use it to meet new people.
While checking out the social media profile of someone before a date can help you learn a little more about them, this won’t always be a good thing. You may discover some red flags that may have you reconsidering the date. But what are some red flags you should watch out for? Well, this article is going to look at a few of them.
Constantly Posting About Their Ex
This is truly the red flag of red flags. If your potential date is constantly posting about their ex and how terrible they are, or that all men are trash, it’s generally a sign of trouble. It can come off as very childish and immature too.
People that post these kinds of things will generally blame others for issues in their lives, instead of looking inside of themselves. While some exes certainly deserve the bad press, many of the people making these posts are just doing so to be vindictive and turn people against an individual. It is often better to avoid this drama and ensure you aren’t the next ex that they post about.
Also, if everything they post is negative in nature, they might not seem like the type of person you want to attempt to have a fun date with.
Every Picture is Heavily Edited
When browsing social media like TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter, you are bound to see some edited photos or videos on some profiles. This in itself isn’t a red flag, as maybe they simply enjoy editing photos or videos and took the time to learn about a TikTok video editor.
But if all of their selfies and photos are almost unrecognizably edited, this could be something to look out for. It could mean they are attempting to hide how they really look. While looks aren’t the only thing that matters, you don’t want to be catfished by someone who looks nothing in person like they do in their photos or videos.
They Have No Online Presence
Another potential red flag is that someone doesn’t have an online presence at all. In this day and age, for someone to have zero digital presence on any social media platform is generally a little strange. It could mean they are trying to hide something, or that they gave you a fake name and backstory that doesn’t exist.
While it’s fine for someone to not like social media, you will likely be able to find at least some tidbit of information on just about anyone online. On the other side of things, someone being too active on social media could also be a red flag. This may often mean they don’t put a lot of time, thought, or effort into their real-life relationships or responsibilities.
Your Potential Date Appears to Have a Boyfriend
While cheating on someone is one of the most unsavory things you can do, millions of people still do it every day. Just because you hit it off with someone in person or on an app and agreed to go on a date doesn’t always mean they’re single. This is especially true if their profile is riddled with pictures of them with the same person and a lot of romantic comments or captions.
Of course, someone may just not have updated their relationship status or might not have deleted old pictures with their ex. However, if someone looks like they aren’t single on their profile, it’s generally a good idea to flat out ask them to see and make sure they are indeed single.
They Support Things That Don’t Align With Your Views or Values
If a person’s social media page is full of reposts or retweets about things you don’t agree with, this could be another red flag. You want to at least share similar interests, views, and values with the person you are dating in most cases.
Of course, there are varying levels to this. For example, you can almost certainly see past them liking a different sports team or movie franchise. But if they disagree with you on larger topics like racism or LGBT rights, these are not things that can be overlooked in most cases.
While you and your potential date don’t need to agree on everything, huge gaps in what you support or what interests you might mean that you are not a good match.
In conclusion, we hope that this article was able to show you some social media red flags to look out for when going on a date. Of course, social media won’t be able to tell you everything, but can be worthwhile to check out.
