Online dating has become huge in recent years. What was once looked down upon as something in which only the desperate dabbled, has now become a societal norm, accepted by even the most skeptical daters.

The idea is to be paired with potential partners based on personality test results and self-written bios. I stress the fact that these bios are written by the people who are actively seeking a relationship for a specific reason. It’s human nature to want to be presented in the best possible light, at all costs. Think of the great lengths to which we go to present ourselves favorably in real life. Now imagine how blurry the lines can get when you’re being judged based on a paragraph and a survey.

One of the most important rules of online dating, in my humble opinion, is to be truthful when creating a profile. Let’s play out a scenario. You’re ideal match is taller than you, fit, has developed a successful career and makes good money, is an avid Cowboys fan, wants to settle down and wants kids. You come across a profile which states that the apparent man of your dreams is a 6’2” dentist with an athletic build, likes to take long walks on the beach and spend romantic nights at home with his significant other. He has no children yet, but can’t wait to get married and have children.

You message him and he responds! After a few messages, you realize that he’s charming enough to convince you that this connection just might not be too good to be true. You agree to meet him for dinner at a swanky new Asian-Mexican fusion restaurant that just opened downtown and had received rave reviews. You arrive at the restaurant and are immediately approached by a short, stout man with a comb-over and half-inch gaps between each tooth. He’s smiling ecstatically at you and calls out your name as we inches closer and closer to you. He’s impressed by the fact that you look better in person than you did in your profile photo and he opens his arms to go in for a hug.

“This has to be a breach of contract… or something,” you say to yourself as you try your best to smile back at your date. You almost vomit in your mouth and swear to yourself that you will never again go on a date with anyone you’ve met online. Because you’re a lady, you decide to sit through the dinner, but all you can think about aside from his annoying cackle is whether or not you can log onto Loveawake.com and delete your profile from your smartphone.

Hence, the importance of honesty. No one wants to be disappointed when going on a blind date. These types of meet-ups are already nerve wrecking enough, without having to question whether or not the person is actually going to look like their profile. Believe me, guys will notice if you said on your profile that you’re 25, 5’7” and 125lbs when in real life you’re 32, 5’2” and 160lbs. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to recognize that you’ve either used an old photo, Photoshopped your photo to appear more appealing, or blatantly lied about your stats. Be courteous and honest.

Tell the truth and spare yourself the grief of being rejected based on your own dishonesty. The way I see it: why lie about your appearance when there are tons of guys out there who would be attracted to you just the way you are?