Online dating 101


More and more people are turning to online dating these days, and i get it. Who has the time to go out every weekend in the hopes that you might meet another single person, let alone find one with similar interests.

How the hell did our parents manage it? Its exhausting. 

Especially when you have dating sites that you can weed out the fellow singles in your area (among other things) and cut out the rigmarole from the get go.

It serves a purpose, but it also comes with a whole host of other issues - Which is why i thought i would share with you some of my basic rules to online dating.
  • Don't give too much away - no one needs unfiltered access to you right away. Hell no one ever needs unfiltered access. So Steven from London doesn't need to know your mum's maiden name during your first few chats or Kevin from Edinburgh has no need to know your porn star name (first pet and street you grew up on). Those might seem innocent questions but it's also one of the first things that are asked on security questions. Try different non specific small talk if your trying to get to know someone. The dinner details are my needed right away.
  • Meet in public - your safety is paramount. And there are enough shows about creepy stalker guys to make you realise how dangerous it can be meeting strangers from online. In the same measure, don't give out your address even if your meeting in public. This could be a really shitty date and you have then no safe space to retreat.
  • Tell someone where you are and who you are with - you don't need to be specific to all the conversations you have had but make sure that should something happen, someone knows who you are with and where you are going. When I was meeting guys I opted for a busy coffee house and I made up a document of everything I knew about them that was identifiable (a screen grab of their profile, their name, a picture, where they are from and any features I knew about I.e tattoos). This got sent to my bestie so should I go missing, they can at least point the police in the right direction. Yeah it's scary but it's necessary.

While I'm all for people having fun and getting to know one and other. I would hate to think of anyone else becoming another online statistic to the dangers of online dating.

Stay safe lovelies. 

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