Remember the first social media site you heard about? Did you sign up? I didn’t. In fact, I assumed that only creepy people socialize through their computer. And now, I’m one of the millions on Facebook.
Remember when you first heard about online dating? Did you sign up? I didn’t. Again, I was filled with assumptions about who would resort to that. And now, some of my closest friends are in a relationship with someone they met online. Still, I think for many of us our internal dialogue goes something like this:
|
Online dating |
Getting set up through friends |
| Stalker. Period. | Oh, they live just down the street, awesome! |
| Oh, a techie. Cyber stalker. | They are so smart and funny…sigh. |
| They mentioned sex in their profile. Yikes, I better stay away. | They want to get to know me! |
| They want to fall in love. Creepy. | Oh, I’m in love. <3 xoxo |
We talk a lot about how to be safe when dating online. But why do we assume that meeting someone this way is more risky than when a friend sets us up? Stalkers and abusers aren’t just lurking online―they live amongst our friends as well. That great guy your friend has known for years could be a great friend to her AND end up stalking you.
Poll your friends: have any of them been stalked or abused? Ask them how they met that person. Let me know what you find out.
Can You Relate? 