Is Online Dating Safe?
Is dating online safe? Well, that’s like asking if walking outside is safe… it is if you take the proper precautions, but if you run head long into the street without looking both ways – you’re bound to get hit by a bus.
Online dating – typically a personal activity done face-to-face has gone high-tech. And while new technology can enhance our lives, with the pros, come the cons. The good thing, actually the great thing about online dating is that it puts you in control. All of the online dating sites let you search for the type of person you’re looking for. Some will even use logic to help generate ‘matches’ for you. However, unlike a well-meaning friend, the computer won’t force you to go out on a date with her friend’s, cousin’s, hairdressers’, next-door neighbor. What it will do is help you pare down the thousands of available people by showing you the types of site members that match your preferences.
Now once you’ve found a few prospective significant others, this is where good ole common sense comes in. All those things your mother taught you about dating in ‘real life’, well they apply online as well. The nice thing is that most online dating sites – once you’re a member – will let you anonymously break the ice with people you want to date as well as allow you to IM (instant message) and email them. This allows you to communicate with individuals and get to know them before ever putting yourself in a situation where you are face-to-face. In fact you may find you have nothing in common and decide to move on before you ever step foot in the same restaurant! The good thing – you didn’t waste time and money on a disappointing evening.
If you do find someone that you seem to connect with, again – use common sense when communicating with what are basically strangers. Don’t give out personal, identifying information (e.g. address, work place information, financial information). If you’re going to meet them – and that is basically the point if you’re looking for a relationship – then make sure you meet them in a public place. Don’t arrange to meet someone at their apartment and most definitely have your own transportation to and from the meeting place. All things you would do if you were on a blind date that your friend set you up on. The same precautions you would take if you started dating someone cute you bumped into at the laundry mat should be taken when you first meet someone you found online.
Online dating can be a fun and safe way to meet great people. More and more singles from all walks of life are joining online dating sites everyday. The stigma of taking out a ‘personal’ ad is rapidly being replaced by the necessity of finding another alternative to the bar scene for busy, ambitious singles looking for love. You use the web to find everything else, why not your next relationship?
