Is OkCupid Good for Seniors?

It can be, for an older man who is willing to read, write and answer questions honestly. OkCupid is built around match questions and written answers, and a man with a few decades of stories has more to put in them than a twenty-five-year-old does. It is a poor choice for a man who wants to tap through a stack of photos and hope for matches. OkCupid does not publish a breakdown of its members by age, so the only way to know about your area is to look.

On a pure swipe app, a woman often decides on one photo in a second. OkCupid slows that down. You see one woman at a time, and she sees your Match percentage, your photos and what you wrote before she decides.

That gives an older man room to be more than a number. A woman who answers the questions the way you do has something to say to you, and that is true at 35 or at 65. The free account likes, sends intros and chats, so a man who is not sure about the whole idea can try it without paying.

This is the part older men miss. OkCupid shows a woman to you only if she fits your settings, and she has to be looking for someone like you too.

So if you are 63 and most women near you set their upper age limit at 60, you will not appear to them and they will not appear to you. You cannot change her settings. You can set yours honestly: the age range of the women you would really be glad to take for a drink, which is usually wider than the number you typed on day one.

Preferences on OkCupid are soft at the edges, so a woman slightly outside your range can still be shown. If a thin feed is the problem, widen the distance and the age range one step at a time, and reset your passes in the Privacy section if you have been on the app for a while.

Your photos matter more than your wording, and they have to be recent. Lead with a clear photo of your face in daylight, then add one that shows you doing something you actually do. Skip the shot from fifteen years ago. The date will compare it with the man who walks in.

Take the photo verification step too. You record a short video selfie, OkCupid checks it against your photos, and a badge goes on your page. For a man worried that women will doubt him, that is one doubt removed.

Then write a few specific lines about your life. "Retired" and "looking for a companion" tell her nothing. "I restore old boats and I am bad at finishing them" gives her a question to ask.

The percentage is only as good as your answers. a dating coach's point about any profile is that what you project has to match the man who turns up to the date. If you answer the way you think women want, the app pairs you with women who would suit a man you are not.

A few true, strong answers push the wrong women down and the right women up. For an older man that matters, because you want the app sending you the women who want what you want, and your answers are how it knows.

a dating coach advises against raising the age question yourself. He would rather she get to know you and like you before age is a topic. So keep your first message about her. Pick one thing she wrote, react to it and ask a question she can answer in a line.

A first message that explains your divorce, your health or your retirement is a lot to ask of a stranger. Save it for a second conversation, and let the first one be light.

Whether OkCupid works for you depends on the women near you who are active and looking to date. a dating coach's rule for choosing any app is that your results depend on exactly that.

Browse Discover for ten minutes with your real age range and distance. Count how many women appear before you see repeats, whether their pages are filled in, and whether you would be glad to meet any of them. A feed of full, recent pages is a good sign. A feed of one photo and no answers means a thin pool, and another app may suit you better.

Use the app every day for two weeks. Write down four numbers: women you liked, mutual likes, chats that started and dates you set. If the chats come and the dates do not, suggest a specific coffee or drink sooner, within four to seven short messages.

Do not make OkCupid your only plan. a dating coach calls an online page a supplement that works quietly in the background, which is useful when you are also getting out to classes, clubs and events. The free account is enough to find out whether the app is working for you.