Online dating in your 50s (more bullshit)

I have been a widow - from a young age and unexpectedly- since 2009. At the time of the fatal accident my late husband was involved in, my two daughters were very young. 
So, I had to put everything aside including my full time job as a journalist and focus on them and their well-being instead. 
I saw them through it all: my eldest graduated from uni last year with a first degree and found a job she loves and my youngest is in final year. 
During this time, I didn’t date that much: just a few here and there where it always became clear that for them I was simply available’ and they did not want to commit, or they needed me to take care of them while they kept chasing after other women! 

One day straight after lockdown, my daughters (who now have boyfriends, spend weekends with them and bring their boyfriends’ boxes home to go with out laundry - something I don’t remember when last I saw) both came to ask me what I was going to do when they finally move out knowing that as a highly sociable person, I absolutely don’t like being alone especially at night. 

They talked me into online dating as meeting people face to face is a lot harder now than at any time before.
Online dating, joining meet-up groups, connecting with people on social networks including people I used to know and lost touch with, are all things I have done and got nowhere with. 
In fact after doing them, I felt better off and more stress free being on my own. There was already enough stress from other sources.

But, still, I thought I would give it a last shot and see what happens this time. If I was more selective in my choices of the site, and the people I connect with, it should be more manageable this time.

So, after thinking and looking carefully, I settled for a site that looked more like it was for professionals like myself. 
I wrote my profile very carefully, edited it over and over again to perfect it so that men checking me out would know that I was not going to waste time on non-serious stuff: I was looking for a serious, lasting, deep and meaningful relationship. 
It was advised that I attach a photo to my profile for a better response. So, I chose one that wasn’t too old. 
The moment I did, I was so bombarded with messages it felt like flies gathering over food. I felt overwhelmed and thought it better to take it down and if a potential was interested, I would ask for his email address and send it to him individually.
I’m in my late fifties now and I’m not saying that I’m irresistibly beautiful, but I have been told that I’m quite attractive and don’t look my age. Well, thank God for small favours as my late husband used to say. 

One guy approached me after he saw my photo and read my profile. He was using a pseudo name and didn’t have a photo on his profile . He requested that we talked on what’s up. I wasn’t ready to give him my phone number, so I sent him a link to talk via Zoom. We did talk and I discovered things that made me very uncomfortable: he was in the process of getting a divorce (really?), was extremely religious and on the black list of his country of origin, for being an activist,( that if he went back, he didn’t know what might happen to him), he said he worked as a psychiatrist and that’s why he couldn’t use his real name or put his photo on the site! I thought to myself ‘c’est du n’importe quoit’: rubbish, nonsense!

Another one said he was a dental surgeon, was the complete opposite of the first one i.e not at all religious, but put the wrong age on his profile to make himself look younger, said it was his two female assistants who created a profile for him because ‘they didn’t want him to be alone’ and shared his email with his ‘ex’! I didn’t think he was divorced or separated . He kept moving in his place while we talked via what’s up as if to avoid being caught! When he found out I was a journalist, knew people from his community, some of whom were either former colleagues or friends, he ended the conversation abruptly. More bullshit! 

Another one, a creative director, asked why I was hiding. He meant why there was no photo of me. I replied that I was happy to email him one after asking him a few questions especially about his marital status. He just vanished. 

Another one sent few messages that I interacted with. Then sent his number and asked that I call him. I thanked him and said I needed to find out a bit more about him first. I said that because he kept exaggerating his professional status and making up stories. He got angry, kept checking my professional profile on LinkedIn and the anger showed in his language! But I put him in his place and he went quiet! 

Am I missing something about men even at this age or is it something about online dating and social networks that allows for playing games, lying, taking advantage etc? 
I’m not cancelling my membership yet because I paid for six months and more importantly because I’m an optimist, believe that there are still good people out there and still have faith in humanity…