Don't Instagram your food if you want a second date: survey

We’ve all been on awful first dates – the one who’s obsessed with their ex, the strong silent one, the exaggerator – but some of Canadians’ top first date faux pas might surprise you.

A new survey from EliteSingles.ca polled 1,000 Canadian singles on their top first date deal breakers, and it seems we’re a picky bunch. Instagramming or Snapchatting your meal, for example, is considered worse than being a bad kisser.

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Keeping with the social media theme, 20% of Canadians say they’d be scared off by someone who adds them to Facebook immediately after a first date.

And don’t even think about wearing your favourite funny t-shirt. A whopping 63% of those polled said wacky shirts are the worst thing to wear on a first date.

Here are the top five things Canadians are put off by on a first date:

Getting too fancy with your first date suggestion
Lying about being a smoker (many consider it worse than lying about your weight)
Wearing your favourite “wacky” shirt
Getting too frisky too early
Being too good of a listener – that is, not speaking at all

And here are some of the more unexpected things Canadians say they can’t stand on a first date:

Taking pictures of your meal for Instagram or Snapchat
Taking selfies during dinner
Wearing a suit and tie – keep it casual
Too much bling – less is more
Adding your date to Facebook right away

Surprisingly, many Canadians don’t consider not tipping to be a first date deal breaker.

So what if your date is doing one of these annoying things and you want to politely excuse yourself from dinner?

“You shouldn’t have to stay on an awkward date for hours with a stranger if you don’t want to,” says psychologist Salama Marine. “But it is important to choose your words carefully; you need to show your date that you do respect them and consider them an equal, despite not feeling romantically attracted to them. There’s no need to be unnecessarily hurtful or mean; you simply need to explain that you cannot picture yourself romantically with them and that you feel your personalities aren’t matched,”

So what are your top first date deal breakers? Let us know in the comments below.