Top Ten Tips - Meeting Someone Offline
By Tip Diva | Jun 08, 2008
Categories: Activities, Adult, Behavior, Computer, Conversation, Drinking, Drinks, Driving, E-Mail, Eating, Family, Friends, Google, Internet, Personality, Relationships, Restaurants, Safety, Search Engines, Tips, Web Search, Women
If you’ve ever met someone in a chat room, on a message board or on an Internet dating site, you may find you have a great rapport with him or her. That online friendship may eventually lead to meeting offline, whether as friends or as a potential relationship. But things aren’t always as they appear online, so protect yourself before meeting someone you’ve met on the computer in person:
- Learn As Much As You Can About The Person - Learn about his or her interests, where he or she lives, and other personally identifying information.
- Get Their Personal Information - Before meeting, make sure you know the person’s full name, phone number and where he or she is from, as well his or her age and what he or she looks like.
- Google Them - If you have the money, you can pay for a background check from a company like Intelius. Otherwise, Google him or her to see if he or she is accurately representing themselves - check hometowns, schools, workplaces and more.
- Talk On The Phone First - Before you meet in person, talk on the phone first - and a few times - to add another layer to the relationship.
- Let Someone Know Where You’ll Be - When meeting the person, let someone know where you’ll be, who you’ll be with, and leave applicable cell phone numbers and names. Have the person call you in the middle of the date to make sure everything’s okay. If you and the person you’re meeting agree, meet on a “double” date - bring a friend along, and suggest he or she do the same. Your friend will be a good judge as to whether the person you’re meeting is legitimate or not.
- Meet In A Populated Spot - Don’t meet at each other’s homes or at a secluded spot. Pick a well-lit, populate spot for the first few meetings, like a coffee house, restaurant or movie theater.
- Drive Yourself - Don’t accept to be picked up or driven around on your first meeting. Drive yourself to the meeting place, so you can make your own escape if need be.
- Watch Your Alcohol Intake - Try not to drink alcohol on your first meeting, as it could impair your judgment (and you should be driving yourself, anyhow!). And do not let the person buy you a drink, unless it is personally handed to you by the bartender or waiter. If you lose sight of your glass, order another, because of the possibility of being slipped a date-rape drug.
- Take Things Slowly - Just because you’ve talked with the person online and on the phone doesn’t mean you’ve known him or her forever. Approach the relationship as you would a person you’ve just met on the street.
- Trust Your Gut - If you’re uncomfortable or feel creeped out by the other person, trust your gut. Let him or her down nicely, but do not agree to meet with them again.
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