Avoid being catfished. Catfish is a term used for when a person uses a fake online personality to pretend they are someone else. Add your match on multiple social media platforms to guarantee they are being true to their personality and their pictures match up.
Don’t disclose. Wait until you meet in person to reveal personal information such as where you live or work. Be cautious of what information is exchanged through the application’s messenger because if your match has intentions other than finding a perfect match, that information can be used against you.
Google their name. Find out as much information as you can about your match before you meet up. You’ll be kicking yourself if you find that you agreed to a date with a registered sex offender or a criminal.
Talk to mutual friends. Many dating apps show what friends you and your potential match have in common on Facebook. Use that feature to your advantage and contact those mutual friends. Ask them what their thoughts are about your potential match to get a verification that the person is worth pursuing.
Always tell a friend. Tell a friend that you are talking to someone through a dating app, and certainly let them know if you’re about to meet up in person. Make sure someone knows when and where you are going just in case something goes wrong.
Meet at a public place. For the first few dates, be sure to meet in a place full of others to avoid uncomfortable or unsafe situations. Drive yourself to and from the date.
Don’t send risqué photos. No matter how much chemistry and passion you believe you and your match have, do not send any photos you do not want posted on the internet. The release of these pictures will be extremely devastating to your career and reputation, and there is no reason to trust someone you met on the internet with them (or anyone, for that matter.)
-Kara Curtin
7
Tips to Safe Online Dating
Forever Swiping Left on Online Dating
"We live in a world where everything is filtered and manipulated, especially in the digital world."
It’s a swipe left for
any sort of online
dating platform for
sophomore,
Jared Guinto.
The
nineteen-year-old
Nebraska native
has never tried
nor wants to try
online dating.
Gunito expresses
the amount of
inconsistency
people face when
they meet someone
online verses in
person.
He also states, “Social media and dating profiles are only showing you
what someone wants you to see.”
Despite Guinto never actually downloading one of the popular dating
app’s such as Tinder or Hot or Not, he has experienced the online
datingworld hands on when he had to help his friend’s mom create an
onlinedating profile.
“She requested me to edit her photo and enhance her image for her
profile picture which further proves my points that it’s misleading.”
Safety concerns have also circulated around the topic of Guinto downloading an online dating app on his phone. He’s heard numerous of horror stories about people meeting others online and getting killed or kidnapped.
“I don’t think online dating is completely safe. It’s very easy to ‘catfish’ and trick someone so it makes me very weary of using these sites and apps.”
-Brianna Davis
