How To Be Safe If You Are Online Dating

Some of my friends are tired of going to bars and meeting people through friends. They felt it was time to go online.

With all the apps there are out there, it's become easier to do the online thing than to get dressed up and hope to meet someone. I always suggest taking up hobbies and hope you meet someone at a cooking class or something.

There are many websites that offer a way to meet people, websites like eHarmony, Match.com, and Plenty of Fish. There are mobile apps like Tinder, Bumble.com, and Hinge. They are easy to find just do a search on your computer or punch in dating app on your phone and they pop up.

Safety.com has come up with these ways to be safe, and some are common sense

Do your research

There are a lot of people, women especially that will pay for a background search website or app to find out who it is they are seeing. You can also look on Facebook or other social media on the internet or apps.

Use a Google Voice Number instead of yours

With the Google Voice app, you can get calls and have an answering machine just like your phone, and you don't have to worry about giving yours so that a person can't search where you live.

Video chat your date before meeting

This is a great way to meet this person and read their body language ahead of time. You can use Facetime, Google Hangouts, Skype and Facebook messenger to get this done. If you get that creepy feeling you can block them, and/or cancel the date. It also takes away the option of you being catfished. (Watch the MTV show to see what I mean)

Meet up in a public place

You should always meet and conduct the date in public until you have been seeing each other for a while and trust going somewhere private. The other thing you should think about from safety.com is to let your bartender know if you need help. You may want to drive yourself or have a friend bring you so they can see the person you meet..

Tell someone else the details of the date

Make your date agree to a plan for the night. Tell your friend or parent where you are going and what you are doing. If it changes, text someone the changes and details. Also, don't give up a lot of personal information right away.

Carry pepper spray

You should carry pepper spray anyway, even if not for a date. You don't have to hurt them just give you time to get away from them and get help. Make sure you know how to use it or it does you no good. Watch a youtube video.

Stay sober

Your first date is not the time to pour back a few. Stay sharp and alert. Always watch your drink so nothing gets put into it.

This blog is not meant to scare you but to help you. I see so many things on tv of things that go wrong because people don't keep their heads about them.