A Review Of Online Personals And Dating Behavior

Are you new to the online dating or personals experience? A review of some basic standards for behavior and some cautions are in order!

Safety First!

Before anything else, keep in mind the importance of safety as you circumvent the online dating and personals. Reviewing what you said in your profile - did you offer information that could help someone find you without you giving them more information? Is there too much information? Just as in talking to someone online - especially someone who you may think you are friends with, but really don't know other than online - you shouldn't give out any personal information until much later in a relationship. That means: no last name, address, phone number, or any other information that could lead a "bad guy" to you. Even stating you attend ABC University can be dangerous, if he already has your first name and a photo. Exercise caution with the information you share in any online forum, especially online personals and dating sites. Review your profile to be sure.

If or when you do decide to meet someone in real life, keep safety in mind. Arrange to meet in a neutral location, somewhere in public. Let each other know what you'll be wearing (perhaps a ball cap?) or have with you (maybe a yellow rose?), in order to identify the right person. You might consider having an agreement up front that if one of you sees the other and isn't interested in taking things any further, you can walk away and not actually meet. It would be considered as a "no harm, no foul" situation, and everyone goes away happy, able to look for someone else who truly interests them. You will be glad if you have your first meeting (and several after that, as well) in a public location, where there are many other people around who can help you feel more comfortable.

Be Honest!

In all your interactions with others from dating or personals sites online, review basic courtesy - be honest. Whether or not you ever expect to meet this person in real life, the smartest thing to do is to show your real self - it's much easier than keeping track of the lies you've told.

Site Advice?

Many online dating and personals sites review basic online and face-to-face meeting procedure somewhere on their site. Read this information and review it again if or when you plan to actually meet someone in real life that you're attracted to online.