Why every man on dating apps now looks exactly the same

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Society & Culture Around Town Book Excerpts Vigyapanti The Dating Story

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Opinion National Interest PoV 50-Word Edit

ThePrint On Camera Videos In Pictures

Society & Culture Around Town Book Excerpts Vigyapanti The Dating Story

More Judiciary Education YourTurn Work With Us Campus Voice

Why every man on dating apps now looks exactly the same

In a sea of sameness, real plot twist now isn’t perfection, it’s presence. Ten years ago, what would not have been a personality is now setting standard because no one is trying.

It takes roughly five minutes on Hinge to realise that Delhi’s Gen-Z men have, quite impressively, unionised into one personality. Not officially, of course, but the aesthetic is so consistent it might as well be a uniform. 

And the thing is, this doesn’t just exist on the app. I went on a date with one of these perfectly calibrated profiles, and while it’s never entirely fair to generalise, the experience felt on brand. So much time seemed to have gone into grooming, lifting, and getting the angles right that very little was left for anything else. Conversation stalled, there was no depth and personality was replaced with the low-effort “rage bait” humour that works better on Instagram comments than across a table.

Scroll long enough, and it starts to feel like the same man being recast in different lighting: the jawline mirror selfie, the gym shot (shoulders squared, veins politely visible), and the inevitable mountain photo, as if emotional depth can only be proven at altitude.

There’s a formula to it now, almost reassuring in its........

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