Online dating is quickly becoming more and more popular. These days, it’s considered socially acceptable to use online dating websites to find dates. Unfortunately, with the anonymity of the internet, there are concerns of safety when using online dating services.
If you follow the guidelines provided here, you should be able to reduce the risk and enjoy a safe online dating experience. This guide is perfect for both men and women of all ages. It’s a general reference for safe online dating, regardless of who you are.
1. When creating your account on a dating site, use a completely unique username and password, specifically for that website. Make sure the username has no connection to your real life name, your Facebook account, or any other personal names you use online. By doing this, you prevent anyone from finding out any more information about you. If there’s no way to link your dating site account to you, then you won’t ever have to worry about anyone figuring out who you are or stalking you outside of the dating website itself.
2. As you create your profile, be honest about yourself without divulging exact details of your location, work, or locations you frequent. Again this is just to limit the amount of access someone has to your personal information as much as possible. You can share more specific details with people once you get to know them better.
3. Once you’re ready to start talking to new people on the dating website, make sure to initially only use the messaging system provided by the dating website itself. Communicate through their private messaging or instant messaging system until you’ve gotten to know someone well enough. If you’ve spoken to someone enough that you feel comfortable with them, this is a good time to communicate over email or instant messenger of your choice.
4. As you become more familiar with interesting people on the site, you’ll start to reach a point where you might actually be interested in meeting this person for a real date. It’s very important that before you do meet this person, you have at least verified their voice and/or face. You can do this by speaking to them on the telephone and paying close attention that they do sound similar to how they’ve described themselves. If you webcam with them, you’ll be able to quickly tell that they really are who they say they are. These days, nearly all laptops and even personal computers have a webcam, so there’s very little excuse to not be able to chat this way. It’s also a great way to get more comfortable interacting with this person.
5. If you’re still hitting it off, it’s now time to meet up for a date. The first date should always be in a public place. Make sure you have your own form of transportation to get there and back. Do not rely on your date to transport you. Do not give your date your address. Meeting in a public place is a safety precaution. In the event they’re not who they say they are, you’ll be able to get away from a bad situation.
6. If the first date goes well and you get along, this is when you can begin transitioning into “normal” dating behavior. Meeting each other where you live, regular phone calls, and sharing more and more personal information.
If you’re met by resistance as you attempt to follow these steps, consider it a red flag. If someone is unwilling to cooperate with you in taking it slowly step by step getting to know each other, then immediately it should be a concern that they have no respect for your safety, and that they might have malicious intent. If you come across someone unwilling to take the time to properly get to know you before you give up too much personal information, be extra cautious of them.
Following all of the above steps will guarantee you a successful, safe, online dating experience. You’ll know exactly who you’re meeting each and every time. You’ll avoid heartbreak from liars and scammers. And most important, you’ll be keeping yourself physically safe from those who want to harm you. These are steps I personally have followed with great success, and I am now happily in a long term relationship with someone I met following exactly these guidelines.
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