Alexandra Taleisnik

Writing 2
De Piero
3/17/16
Single and Ready to Mingle
Hi, my name is (Insert Name Here). I like eating food, playing with my dog, and doing
fun things. This is just one example albeit not a very good one of an About Me bio. Bios
can be seen anywhere from personal blogs to job applications, but are most commonly found on
dating sites. When most people think of dating profile bios, they think of cheesy clichs and
sappy romantic notions. However, dating sites have become increasingly extensive in the
information they require members to provide. Tinder, JDate, and Match.com are all popular
online dating services. Each of these sites is unique in demographics and format, but they all
encourage users to write a bio to give potential matches a glimpse of who they are. The format,
tone, and content of About Me bios are largely influenced by the type of relationship a dating
website promotes, as well as the target demographic it caters to.
Dating bios have their own set of conventions and patterns that characterize them as such.
While bios can vary depending upon the person, they often times have the same components that
make up their form. Aside from the basic informationname, age, location, and occupationa
big convention of these About Mes is a list of hobbies. Many people include this in their dating
bio in hopes of finding someone with shared interests. Another major convention of a dating bio
is a description of an ideal date. Again, this allows users to determine their compatibility with
potential matches. Bios tend to take on a friendly and personable tone, that can sometimes sound
conversational. This writing tactic is used to boost a persons likability factor, because lets be
honest, nobody wants to talk to someone who sounds like a robot. Other patterns commonly

found in dating bios include photos, cheesy sayings or jokes, likes and dislikes, and the type of
relationship they are looking for. The way in which this information is presented not only varies
from person to person, but also between sources.
Match.com is one of the oldest and largest active dating websites, having over 6 million
users worldwide. It caters largely to over 40s singles looking to find love. Many of the profiles
and About Mes are very detailed and straightforward. Members wasted no time in describing the
type of partner they desired and what they were looking for in a potential match. They were very
open and honest, claiming to want to settle down or start a family. One man in particular said, I
am looking for my best friend, my lover, and the mother of my future children. Each profile
provided one picture with basic information about the person. This included occupation, whether
or not they had children, and even their height and weight. Another convention found in the
Match bios was the mention of romance. There were multiple people who used the phrase a
romantic at heart. This goes back to who the writer is and who the audience is. In Backpacks vs.
Briefcases, Laura Carroll states, Audience can determine the type of language used, the
formality of the discourse, the medium or delivery of the rhetoric (Backpacks vs. Briefcases,
Pg. 49) For users on Match, romance is something that appeals to a lot of people because the
majority of them are older, divorced, widowed, etc. They want another chance at love and
romance, and hope to find it online.
The second source,Tinder, is a popular dating app designed to match users to others in
their area. It is mainly used by college aged singles looking for a casual hookup. The format of
Tinder is much different than a traditional dating website. It still provides a name and location of
possible matches, but rather than giving a city, it shows the number of miles away that person is

from the user. This makes it easy for two people to quickly meet up on a whim or with short
notice which caters largely to the relaxed and spontaneous nature of many college students.
Tinder profiles tend to focus more on photos, rather than bios. In fact, many of the profiles
surveyed didn't even have a bio.Those that did were very short in length with little personal
information often in a list format. For example:
Josh
21
UCSB
Hit me up
In Navigating Genres, Dirk states, two texts that might fit into the same genre might also look
extremely different (Navigating Genres. page 255). This concept that genres aren't one size
fits allhelps explain how Tinder bios and Match bios can still be considered the same genre
even though they don't look alike. While a list of hobbies was found consistently in Match.com
bios, the convention seen most on Tinder profiles is a joke or cheesy saying. Seeing that the
purpose of the app is to find a quick hookup, the profiles focus more on appearance rather than
personality. These witty sayings are used as a way to grab someones attention without giving
any intimate details away. Examples included, Looking for a Tindered spirit or If you dont
like space jam, dont Tinder me. Again, these examples create interest without revealing too
much about the person. The format of these bios are quite unconventional, but fit well with the
overall goal of the app. The bios are short and simple, just like the resulting relationships tend to
be.
The final source is JDate, a dating website for Jewish singles. The main demographics of
this site are young adults between the ages of 25 and 35. JDate is more closely related to Match

than it is Tinder. The profiles focus a lot on who the person is, rather than what they look like.
The tone is very easy-going and conversational with a slightly more relaxed format. It has many
of the conventions previously listed, including photos, likes and dislikes, and ideal type of date.
JDate bios tended to center around a persons hobbies and interests. It emphasized more about
who the person was, rather than who they were looking for. Something unique about JDate that
the other sources dont focus on is the religious component. JDate is specifically for Jewish
singles, so it asks more in depth questions regarding their religious practices. For example, it
asks if they consider themselves to be religious or spiritual and how often they attend religious
services. JDate draws a very specific type of person that share one thing in common their
religion. This gives users the opportunity to discuss their beliefs more openly than they would on
other dating sites, which in turn affects the content of their About Me.
Whereas Match.com focuses on finding a life partner and Tinder is used to find a shortterm fling, JDate is somewhere in between. Most users are looking for serious relationships, but
aren't necessarily ready to get married or settle down. This is due to the fact that JDate appeals to
a different audience than the other two dating services. Something that is important to consider
when comparing these three sources is the location in which the bios are being written. Dirk
explains that location helps shape a genre and can shift the style in which you are writing
(Navigating Genres. Page 255). Theoretically, someone could use Tinder, JDate, and Match.com
and have three completely different bios for each dating service because they appeal to such
different audiences and have entirely different goals. Even though the bios are quite different in
style, they still contain many of the same elements. They all had pictures, listed hobbies, and
talked about their likes and dislikes. The focus of the profile pictures, hobbies, etc. along

with the kind of relationship desired, is what shapes the format and creates the varying types of
dating bios.
Genre analysis is an extremely important concept that everyone should learn.
Understanding genres and how they work allows people to determine the best way to approach
different situations. Knowing what genres to use, and how to use them effectively, helps people
communicate and accomplish goals. Knowing the genre in which you are writing is vital in being
a successful communicator. Amy Devitt wrote, genres have the power to help or hurt human
interaction (Navigating Genres. Page 252). This may seem intense, but it is true. When
writing a dating bio, users have to determine the type of person they want to attract, and what
they want to gain from a potential relationship, in order to write the most effective About Me.
Being able to analyze genres and recognize their patterns can benefit everyone readers,
writers, and communicators alike.
The type of relationship a dating website promotes and its target demographics heavily
influence the overall format, tone, and content of About Me bios. Each person that uses a dating
website is looking for something different, and they need to convey that through their bio. The
format they use, or what they choose to emphasizewhether is be photos, hobbies, or an ideal
date affects how others view them. This doesn't necessarily determine which conventions they
include or dont include, because again, genres aren't one size fits all. Not every convention is
going to show up in every bio. If that were the case, dating bios would be useless, each one
looking identical to the next.

References
Dirk, Kerry. "Navigating Genres." <i>Writing Spaces</i>. West Lafayette, IN: Parlor, 2010. N.
pag. Print.

Carroll, Laura. "Backpacks vs. Briefcases: Steps Towards Rhetorical Analysis." <i>Writing
Spaces</i>. West Lafayette, IN: Parlor, 2010. N. pag. Print.