Liar, Liar

10. Photographs 

They say a picture's worth a thousand words—and those words are likely to be lies if the picture's on an online dating profile. Dr. Toma says in self-reports, in which study participants admitted to their own lies, "photographs were identified as the single most deceptive element of the person's profile." Yes, some were unintentionally misleading, thanks to poor camera quality and lighting, but others were purposefully altered through digital editing to be more flattering. Ettin recommends posting three – five pictures. "One should be a good head shot, another a full body shot and another of you doing something interesting," she says. And no photo you post should be more than a year old. You want your date to recognize you when you meet, don't you?