Social media profiles most common criteria to select prospective dates: Norton survey

Ahead of Valentine’s Day, Cyber safety company Norton LifeLock carried out a survey regarding consumers’ online behavior towards their current or prospective partners. According to 60 per cent of the respondents, the most common tactic for selecting a prospective date includes looking up their social media profiles. Forty-three per cent of the people surveyed said they looked up their prospective match’s profile on a professional networking site while 40 per cent looked up the social media profiles of their potential match’s friends and family members.

Norton conducted this study online in partnership with The Harris Poll and surveyed 1,000 Indians above 18 years of age, as per an official release. This report highlights the importance of taking precautions with privacy, data and information shared online. “It is important to be vigilant when it comes to sharing your personal information on dating apps as this can leave consumers vulnerable if personal information gets in the wrong hands,” Norton LifeLock Director of Sales and Field Marketing for India and SAARC Countries Ritesh Chopra said.
 
Twenty-seven per cent Indian adults surveyed also looked up the music account of a romantic interest whereas 21 per cent admitted to using information accessible on payment apps like Paytm, Google Pay, Amazon Pay and PayPal to check on someone else’s public activity.
 
The biggest reason to unmatch a potential partner for almost one-third of those surveyed or 29 per cent was disturbing social media posts. For others, it was because they discovered their potential partner’s social media pictures that conflicted with their dating profile photos (34 per cent) and discovering disturbing information about their potential partner’s family (22 per cent).
 
For Indians, social media lurking was not only limited to checking out the social media and dating site profiles of their potential match or looking up music accounts or payment app information. According to those surveyed, social media lurking can lead to a whole lot of awkward and uncomfortable circumstances. Around 2 in 5 or 44 per cent Indians surveyed admitted that they have accidentally “deep-liked” an old post or photo on a social media profile either of a romantic interest (31 per cent) or of their partner’s ex-signigicant other (28 per cent).
 
Meanwhile, a whopping 73 per cent of the Indians surveyed, who have been in a romantic relationship, admitted to checking on their current or ex-partner without their knowledge or consent. Among those who admitted to keeping an eye on their partner via social media, 25 per cent admitted to tracking their current or former partner via location sharing apps while 23 per cent created a fake profile to check on their partners (current or former) on social media.
 
But is stalking one’s current or former partner only limited to younger generation? Absolutely not. Forty-nine per cent of those aged between 18-39 years of age and 42 per cent of those aged 40 years and above said they were more likely to stalk a current/former partner online if they knew wouldn’t be caught. The survey further stated that only 30 per cent adults shared their location with a family member or a friend before meeting someone they met online in-person.
 
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