http://www.awakeningcupid.com/dating/internet/sites/ Internet dating sites seem like a perfect way to meet a lot of new people, but there is also a downside to internet dating sites. en-us Mon, 26 Sep 2005 14:22:29 EDT Mon, 26 Sep 2005 14:22:29 EDT Weblog Editor 2.0 Maybe it's because of the huge popularity of internet dating sites. Maybe its because people just have an ingrained faith in other people for the most part. Maybe it's because some of our friends have actually met people they liked through internet dating sites. What ever the reason is, people just seem to think that other people on internet dating sites are actually telling the truth, putting out real pictures of themselves, and have the same intent as we do - to meet other compatible people for a date or something more serious. The fact is this - the Internet is the perfect environment for people to misrepresent themselves and prey on other unsuspecting people. All of this adds up to one thing - it is extremely important that we all protect ourselves from the dangers of internet dating. Be aware and protect yourself while using Internet dating sites Of course no one can protect you from an overall bad date. There are plenty of stories about awful dates that did not turn out as someone thought they would when they met the person through an internet dating site and to a certain extent this cannot be avoided. What we can do to keep this to a minimum is to take our time and really spend a good deal of time chatting with another person through internet dating sites. When we are in a hurry or overexcited, that is when we tend to lose a little of our judgment, but throwing caution to the wind and hoping for the best will only increase your chance of having a big disappointment or worse. Use the internet dating site for as long as you need to feel comfortable with the other person and only then start out by exchanging phone numbers. In addition to that every user of internet dating sites should follow these simple guidelines: Do not give out personal information too soon and especially not if someone is pressuring you. Use your good judgement and if something seems strange, move on, there are plenty of other normal people online to start up a relationship with. Do not meet someone in their home or let them come to your home - do not even give out your address until after you have met the other person and have confidence in them. Take a friend with you on the first meeting. Let others know where you will be, if going alone, when you are expecting to return, and with whom you are going to be with. If anything raises a red flag in your mind, leave well enough alone. If anyone goes too far, makes you extremely uncomfortable, speaks violently or threatens you, or if they will not leave you alone and start stalking contact the site immediately - they have ways of getting rid of undesirable people from their dating site. Some of these things might seem like common sense, but even the most intelligent among us can fall into these traps. It is easy to think that you have gotten to know someone, but we must always keep our wits about us with internet dating services and the people we meet through them. Mon, 26 Sep 2005 14:22:29 EDT