WYD

Communication

'What you doing': a low-effort opener message.

What it means

WYD ('what you doing') is the most-criticized dating-app opener for a reason: it's effort-free, signals nothing about the sender's interest in the recipient specifically, and is interchangeable across thousands of profiles. Almost every advice column on dating-app messaging cites 'don't open with wyd' as a baseline rule.

Also called What you doing, What're you doing.

Bathroom mirror selfie of an older manOlder man in a warm studio portrait

Make the first impression the easy part.

Turn the photo you have into a better photo or a short video. Still you, on a good day.

You can't control the reply. You can control the photo.

Fix the light and color on the photo you have, put yourself somewhere new, or turn it into a short video. Most photos are ready in about 60 seconds.