Jana Hocking: The sneaky dating profile trick you’ll regret

It’s a common crutch singletons turn to when hitting the dating scene, but in the long run it actually ends up hurting your chances, says Jana Hocking.

Let’s face it, who hasn’t felt insecure about your dating profile photos?

As any singleton will know, it’s a vulnerable feeling to upload your photos on a dating app and hit publish – just ask news.com.au’s resident dating expert Jana Hocking.

During this week’s episode she admitted to a common dating app habit: Filtering her photos before uploading them online.

“So I have to admit that I have used a filter before on my dating profile pictures and I’ve definitely been on dates with others who have,” she revealed on this week’s episode of news.com.au podcast Kinda Sorta Dating.

Kinda Sorta Dating host Jana Hocking admits she’s added a filter to her dating profile photos before. Picture: Instagram/Jana Hocking.

But while adding a cheeky filter on your best selfie might seem like a harmless confidence boost, one body confidence expert warns it is doing more harm than good.

Taryn Brumfitt is a body positivity activist who went viral for sharing a raw and unfiltered photo of her naked body.

The model of three is also behind 2016 documentary Embrace which looked at why so many adults hate the way their bodies look.

Taryn told Jana that using a filter gave people “fake confidence” rather than “real confidence” when it came to dating.

“I think there’s almost a feeling of like you’re luring somebody into false pretences, so why would we do that?” she said.

These ‘before and after’ photos of Taryn went viral and kickstarted her work as a body positivity advocate.

“It doesn’t make you feel very confident going on a date when you rock up and you don’t look as smooth or as young or whatever you’ve changed on your filter, that doesn’t feel good.”

Jana revealed that filters had often caused her extra anguish when meeting up with someone on a dating app for the first time.

“I actually think that filters set you up for more disaster,” she said.

“By the time you go to the date you’re like, ‘Oh god, they’re expecting someone else, they’re expecting someone with eyes so much bigger, teeth that are much whiter and boobs that are bigger’ and it’s actually in the long term going to make you more nervous about meeting them in real life.”

Jana said that using filters on dating apps had been a “disaster”. Picture: Instagram/Jana Hocking.

Taryn encouraged people to use a mixture of glam and dressed down photos on their dating profile. Picture: Instagram/@bodyimagemovement.

Taryn said that using filters on dating app photos could leave you feeling “very paranoid” when you arrive on a date.

“The very last thing you want walking up to a date is oh god, is he noticed that I look different?” she said. “I think it’s a waste of time, it’s unnecessary.”

Instead, Taryn advised people to share a mixture of photos showing themselves glammed up and dressed down.

“When I was online dating, I made sure that on my Bumble profile I had a selection of images that had me at my best and at my normal, so glammed up looking smoking and then in no makeup and frizzy hair in overalls,” she said.

“I wanted any of my potential dates to know that I wear many hats and many faces and that I’m confident stripped back to nothing.”

Originally published as Jana Hocking: The sneaky dating profile trick you’ll regret