You may have been chatting online with someone for a long time and you may feel that you know him or her well. This may not be true, because your online friend may have been lying to you.
Be careful about meeting them, or about revealing personal information about yourself, just as you would when you meet a stranger for the first time. There will be excitement coupled with anxiety when you meet your online date for the first time, but you need to think about protecting yourself first.
Keep the following tips in mind when you meet your online date for the first time:
1. Meet your online date in a public place. Don’t agree to be picked up from your home. Some people take a friend along, but that’s not my personal idea of a date.
2. Tell your date that you will meet him or her.
3. To avoid feeling like you are under an obligation, insist on splitting the bill with your date.
4. Use your own car to go for the date and make sure that you have enough gas.
5. If you choose to drink, always remember that alcohol will reduce your inhibitions and impair your judgment. Always keep your glass in sight, so that you are aware of what you are drinking.
6. Avoid telling your date your address on your first date. Make plans to meet a second time and then decide if you want to tell him or her where you live.
7. If you have an intuition about the type of person your date is, don’t ignore it. If a sixth sense warns you that something is not right, leave right then.
8. If your date tells you that he or she is very religious, don’t take it for granted that you will be safe with them.
9. Never agree to meet your date in an isolated place. A good place is somewhere like the mall, where there are plenty of people around. Meet in the food court or a coffee shop for a soft drink or snack.
10. Even if there is a lot of attraction and you are having a great time, remain vigilant. Keeping a cell phone handy can help.
11. It is better to give your date your cell phone number, rather than your home phone number.
12. Tell a friend where you are going and whom you will be meeting. Fix a time when you will be calling them to confirm that you are back and safe.
13. Plan on keeping the first meeting short. Don’t plan an elaborate evening out the first time you meet someone. You can always spend more time together later.
14. Enjoy yourself, and don’t let these tips make you paranoid. Be careful, but don’t worry too much.
