Date Safe and Have Fun!
The other day I was talking to a newly single friend about online dating when she immediately bombarded me with questions like, “is it safe?” and “aren’t you afraid you’ll get murdered?”
While I’ve had some great experiences with people I’ve met online, her concerns are valid. Even I’ve had my fair share of experiences with men who turned out to be a little too “axe-murdery” for my taste. While it can be scary out there, meeting-up with people you found online can be fun; you just have to be smart about it.
Here are a few rules I stick to when meeting-up with someone new:
Always meet in public.
When arranging a first time meeting, always make sure it’s in a public place with lots of people around. Not only will this help ease your nerves a bit, but it gives you a safe place to get to know the person before deciding to take things to a more private venue.
Tell someone where you’re going.
Any time I go on a date, I let a close friend know where I’m going and who I am going with. I also set a designated check-in time so the friend knows I made it home safely. If I fail to check-in and the friend gets worried, they at least know where to start looking.
Trust your gut.
If something feels wrong, it probably is. Trust your instinct and avoid the situation altogether.
Try a dating safety app.
Dating apps like myDateTrackerAlert let you enter all information pertaining to your date (location, date’s name, date’s phone number etc.) and will send a message to your emergency contacts should you fail to “check-in” by a certain time. Not only does this eliminate the need to send out a bunch of texts, but the app will work even if your phone is turned off for some reason.
Make your own rules and stick to them.
I always have a game plan, and I stick to it whether the other person likes it or not. If a man can’t respect my need to feel safe, he’s out. I once had a guy get really pissed that I wanted our first meeting to be in public, saying I was being paranoid and should just meet him at his place instead. That was a huge red flag in my book, so instead of letting him talk me into doing something I wasn’t comfortable with, I told him to go to hell. I mean sure, I do watch a lot of Law and Order SVU which makes me a little paranoid sometimes, but it’s still my right to protect myself how I see fit.
The key to dating safety is to remember you are in control. Once you’ve taken charge of your own safety, you’ll feel much more at ease, and above all, ready to get out there and have some fun!