A new study has confirmed something most dating app users already suspected. Men are swiping way out of their league—and it’s not going well.
Researchers analyzed nearly 3,000 heterosexual users on a Czech dating app and found a pattern. Men consistently pursued women who ranked higher in overall desirability, while women generally matched with men who were closer to them on the hotness hierarchy. This wasn’t based on first impressions or filtered photos. The PLOS One study analyzed real swipe behavior to see how desire and rejection played out.
“We found that men tended to express interest in women who were more desirable than themselves,” said study author Renata Topinková, “while women typically pursued men of more similar desirability.” In other words, guys are swinging for the fences, and women are keeping it realistic.
Men Are Way Too Picky on Dating Apps
Desirability was measured by how often someone got swiped on. Since there were far more men than women on the app, women were generally ranked higher, simply because they had more options. The bad news for men? Those options rarely include them.
The study also found that matches were most successful when both people were at similar levels of desirability. So even though men often shoot their shot with someone way “above” them, the data shows that rejections push them back into range.
This isn’t just about looks. Other research has shown that people tend to partner with others who share similar politics, ages, and backgrounds. But this study cut through all that and looked at raw interaction. And what it found was pretty brutal: if you’re constantly being ignored on apps, it’s probably because you’re aiming too high.
“The successful matching outcomes tend to align more closely with women’s preferences than with men’s,” the researchers wrote. That makes sense in an environment where men outnumber women and are expected to make the first move. The more selective group ends up having more power—and in this case, it’s not the guys.
The researchers didn’t say men should settle. They said men should be more realistic. Which, depending on who you ask, might be the same thing. Either way, if your thumbs are tired and your ego’s bruised, it might be time to stop swiping up and start swiping across.
