Forget red flags or green flags in dating (well, not entirely because they’re important, but for a moment), the latest thing folks are talking about in the romantic space is beige flags. The trend has emerged on TikTok, of course, and it’s driving people to question whether or not their potential date may be incredibly dull.
The whole thing is a little silly, really, and probably isn’t something we’d suggest placing too much value on. But it’s certainly a bit of a laugh and, in some circumstances, may even highlight incompatibilities you haven’t considered before. To help filter through the whole beige flag conversation, we chatted with Bumble’s resident Sexologist, Chantelle Otten, over email. She offered a few pointers on the dating app trend and explained when it’s worth paying attention to this kind of flag.
First of all, what in the hell is a beige flag?
As we touched on above, beige flags have emerged off the back of discussions about dating app profiles and signs the people behind them might be a little boring. According to Otten, “this could be because of their generic choice in bio (we’re all sick of the pineapple on pizza debate) or just a general lack of personality and information they’re offering”.
Ouch.
OMG, is my profile boring?
If all of this is making you consider not only the profiles of potential dates, but the choices you’ve made with your own dating app profile, Otten has a few pieces of advice. First on that list is to remember that this whole thing is subjective. Your beige flag may be another person’s green flag, and that is absolutely fine.
But with that said, it’s still worth spending some time when building out your dating app profile. Otten explained that when it comes to Bumble specifically, you should “Make sure you use a variety of photos (not all group shots)… and be clear about what you are looking for, not what you aren’t looking for”.
“Try to steer clear of anything your match is likely to have seen a thousand times before – for example, ‘my go-to pizza delivery order is XYZ, tell me yours’ is much more engaging than just ‘pineapple doesn’t belong on pizza’. Remember to be playful, and be positive,” she said.
What to do if you come across beige flags on a dating app
Okay, so you’ve been swiping away, and you realise you’ve matched with someone who has put next to no effort into their dating app profile and comes across as pretty vanilla. What do you do here?
Obviously, this doesn’t have to be taken as a sign that you should ditch this person. Give them a shot, of course, but Otten advised that “if you’ve taken a chance on somebody and have found that your conversation just isn’t progressing past the old ‘I’m good, wby’, then it might be time to move on”.
On the other hand, however, you don’t want to be overly dismissive of ‘beige flags’ too quickly. Especially for those looking to date men.
“Bumble’s Romance Gap report, conducted earlier this year, found that 36% of Australian men feel like they are expected to avoid caring too much or showing too much emotion, and it’s possible that this leads to them holding back from putting much effort into their dating profile,” Otten said.
The best way to play it, she shared, is to “look out for signs where they are showing hints of their personality – maybe they have linked their Spotify, and you can see you have the same taste in music, or they have a photo in your favourite restaurant?”
“…my advice would be to go in with an open mind and make sure you aren’t settling for matches that you don’t think match your vibe.”
And if you want some tips on how to build an impressive – beige flag free – dating app profile, keep reading here.
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