Aaah OP, these dating platforms are a minefield through which one has to tiptoe with extreme caution, circumspection, eyes and ears wide open and wits fully tuned.
I joined one a few months ago, wrote a very lengthy biography, as honestly as I could, the good and the bad, did my best to represent myself truly, tried to make it lighthearted too and different to the normal generic "my friends would describe me as..." type, boring, formulaic offerings, in the hope that someone would see beyond the written word. Nothing, absolutely nothing - I was starting to wonder if my profile was even live! Granted, my pictures are not brilliant and I am not attractive physically. Also, my writing style is a little old fashioned, perhaps a bit lengthy, wordy and maybe slightly 'clunky'. But that is the way I tend to write or vocalise my thoughts!! For weeks and weeks I did not even get a single view, let alone a 'like' or message. Then, suddenly, I was subjected to a couple of messages, out of the blue, from people who I had not even viewed - nasty, vitriolic messages which dented my confidence and wounded me very deeply. Really hurtful. But then, a week or so later, someone sauntered along, hands in pockets, whistling, rather diffidently sent me a message to say that my profile was vastly different, honest and refreshing. I was over the moon, and we struck up a text conversation, followed by a phone call. Singlehandedly, and without even being aware of it, this person, who has the biggest, warmest, most generous heart imagineable, restored my faith and belief that there ARE some real, genuine people on these sites, using them properly for their intended purpose!
Sadly, it is not likely to progress beyond an online friendship for me, due to various factors, but we are staying in touch, following one another's progress and willing one another on to find our respective nuggets of pure gold amongst the base metal and dross. I have made a new friend, even if we never meet in real life, and that is one positive to have come out of it
In the meantime I am taking a step back from the site, licking my wounds and will just see if anything happens organically and naturally, though the low poulation density and limited demographic where I live makes the chances of meeting someone, with whom I would like to connect, slim to nil!
Goodness, that was long, but cathartic, my apologies!
OP, I wish you all the very best, keep buggering on, as Churchill would have said, you never know who is out there!
For reference, and transparency, I am in an older age group than you and a different sex, but the problems are not dissimilar!