Fellas, it’s officially time to yeet that two-foot barramundi out of your Tinder profile because there’s FINALLY an alternative (there was always an alternative). Unsurprisingly, the answer to copping more matches online is…dogs! More specifically, small dogs!
A study by the University of Jaen in Spain has collated a big enough sample size to prove once and for all that a four-legged friend does in fact aid you in the quest for a match online.
300 college students were shown pictures of blokes walking with and without a small dog. Turns out, the blokes with a lil’ dog were perceived to be less intimidating and threatening as per The Mirror. Consider that very low bar passed!
The study also included photos that were taken in both “positive” (well-lit, non-suss) environments and “negative” (dimly lit and suspect AF) environments.
“The current study has shown that the small-sized dog prompts more positive emotional reactivity and higher levels of safety than the medium-sized dog in most emotional contexts,” said a spokesperson for the research team.
“Emotional and safety benefits from dog presence might also be related to size,” they added.
Even in negative environments, the small dog was seen to enhance positive reactions from the participants.
The study comes after the term “dogfishing” was coined a few years back.
The word (which is confusingly a mixture of two separate animals) describes the trend of men adding a pic to their Tinder profile with a dog that doesn’t belong to them.
Ethically, we’re not 100 per cent sold on this one.
Surely it’s fine to chuck a cute dog pic in your profile as long as you’re upfront about the fact it ain’t yours? Otherwise, you just come off as a dog thief and nobody likes a dog thief.
Besides, it’s a free country and I’ll post a pic with my mate’s cavoodle if I goddam want to.
So without further ado, adopt at the pound if you’re fangin’ for a pound. As they say…
