“Looking For A Man In Finance”: 10 Ridiculous Dating Preferences People Actually Had

Most people might complain about how much dating sucks, but they still do it. According to the Pew Research Center, three in 10 Americans are single, and 51% are looking for a committed relationship or casual dating.

It's natural to know what person you'd like to date. You may want your values to align, maybe you'd like them to listen to the same music and like similar films as you. Others have preferences about their potential partner's looks, consciously or unconsciously.

But some demands people in the dating world can seriously veer into the absurd. Knowing and having experienced that firsthand, one person online asked others: "What's the most ridiculous dating preference you've heard of?" And people's answers perfectly illustrate the hell that is modern dating.

We also reached out to the person who started this thread, u/Urjanhai. They kindly agreed to tell Pictolic what inspired it and chat with us about why modern dating seems so difficult at the moment. Read our conversation below!

10 PHOTOS

#1

Not the most ridiculous, but I got a good laugh when my friend said he wanted to set his dating profile to exclude girls with small dogs that can’t breathe well.

#2

Having an active social media presence.

Multiple people tell me that my choice not to use social media was a huge red flag, but in reality, I got rid of my accounts because they were making me miserable. I got rid of my Facebook/Instagram/twitter accounts two years ago, and have been noticeably happier ever since.

#3

A woman I knew mentioned she was looking for a man who made “at least $500k/yr” and was also an artist type and not a workaholic. I was like I think those items conflict sweet thang.

The urge to ask others about the most ridiculous dating preferences they've encountered was inspired by the Redditor's own experiences. "I presented this question to Redditors due to having encountered individuals with absolutely mind-boggling and illogical preferences and standards. I was curious to know just how far this phenomenon has gone."

Brazilian researchers have found that even in 2024, people say kindness and intelligence are the most valued traits they look for in a partner. "This is true for both men and women and across the sexual orientation spectrum – although heterosexual men do place a premium on their partner's physical attractiveness," said the study's author, Joao Francisco Goes Braga Takayanagi of the University of Sao Paulo.

#4

I met a 49-year-old man who outright refused to date any women over the age of 30.

He was single, in case you're wondering.

#5

Obese People refuse to date other obese people while simultaneously claiming that being larger is more sexually appealing.

The most ridiculous dating preference u/Urjanhai's ever experienced was about cars. "Probably the most ridiculous preference was based on what car the man drives. I've seen countless women wanting to date a man who drives a specific brand of cars."

"[The] most ridiculous part of that is that the car brands in question were not even the fancy types like Lamborghinis, etc. No, these women wanted Volvos," the Redditor said in disbelief. "No matter how trashy the car itself was, as long as it's a Volvo, it was okay."

#6

Not dating Android users.

#7

My friend claims to only want to date Japanese girls, despite not living in Japan or any community with a Japanese population. Furthermore, he has never even met a Japanese girl. His opinion is based solely on watching anime.

u/Urjanhai thinks that the increasingly silly demands from people in dating have to do with social media. "I believe this phenomenon is tied to social media and how impressionable people have come."

"Some people adopt their dating preferences from social media if those preferences are popular. It's like wanting to fit in with people you don't know and likely won't ever even meet in real life. Social media has warped people's perception of real-life social dynamics. In a way, they have lost a chunk of their sense of reality, which is alarming," the netizen tells us.

#8

Dude wanted a Japanese woman who spoke Spanish and cooked Mexican food.

#9

Only dating people with a specific astrological sign or birthdate.

#10

I work with someone who only wants to marry someone from her church. Not her faith - Her physical church of 20 people.