Local Woman’s Profile Powered Entirely by Pinterest Quotes Raises Alarms for Thought Drought

Her photos were cute. Her smile was promising. But once the bio kicked in — “Live, Laugh, Love” followed by “Good Vibes Only” and a lowercase “she believed she could, so she did” — Marcus, 32, felt an immediate sense of déjà vu. “I didn’t know if I was swiping on a person or an Etsy pillow,” he told The Mocking Post. “It was like being motivationally waterboarded.”

Marcus isn’t alone. A growing segment of men online are reporting a trend where dating profiles feel less like expressions of personality and more like Pinterest vision boards converted into human form. In fact, according to a 2024 study by the Pew Research Center, 61% of straight men on dating apps say they’ve matched with at least one woman whose bio consisted entirely of quotes or affirmations — many of them unattributed, misspelled, or both.

“It’s not that we hate positivity,” said Julian, 28, who’s now in a committed situationship with a woman whose bio was just the word “pizza.” “We just want to date a person, not a bathroom decal from 2012.”

Experts refer to the trend as Profile Plagiarism — the uncritical copy-paste of viral mantras in lieu of original thought. “It’s performative optimism,” explained cultural linguist Dr. Kira Mell. “The bio becomes a mirror, not a window. And when everyone’s reflecting the same mood board, the whole platform collapses into cliché.”

A quick search of Hinge bios in the Austin metro area reveals over 400 users currently leading with some variation of:

• “Looking for my person.”
• “Love fiercely, laugh often, trust the timing.”
• “No bad vibes.”
• “Let’s make memories and playlists.”
• “Fluent in sarcasm.”

“There’s nothing wrong with positivity,” said Derek Brutal. “But if your bio sounds like it was written by an algorithm trained on wine glasses at HomeGoods, you may be unqualified for emotionally sentient relationships.”

Critics argue that men do the same — hiding behind their own genre of vague ambition and gym selfies. But others say it’s different. “Men try to sound like CEOs of their own emotional development,” said Mell. “Women just try to sound like they’re always on vacation, even while crying in the car.”

As the dating landscape grows more automated, so does the pressure to stand out. And according to Brutal, the answer might be terrifying: “At this point, an honest sentence might be the most radical thing you can post online.”