Love, Dating, and Romance

Online Romance: Sign Up. Find One Today.

So, you've met someone who has potential through that an online romance site and you're ready to meet him or her in person. This may be the love of your life. Or a disaster waiting to happen. There are several important guidelines to follow to ensure that your online romance is not going to turn out to be a dangerous situation.

Through singles dating, a scene such as this could be in your future.

Rules for Online Romance

There are a lot of things to remember before you even start talking to someone online that you think might have potential. So before you develop any feelings, try to remember that people will lie to make themselves seem more attractive, or worse, to hide the fact that he or she is really a stalker or a sexual predator. Also, before you meet, try to consider the relationship as a friendship. That way, if it doesn't work out romantically, you may have gained a friend out of the situation. Other guidelines before agreeing to meet someone in person:

Make sure you talk on the phone first. You can tell a lot about someone's social skills and personality through a phone conversation. A red flag might come up too if the person won't give a home phone number. If they've just moved to your town from out of town, a cell phone number might be the only number they have. But if they've lived in the area their entire lives, it's unlikely they won't have a local number in addition to a cell number. And if they only give you their work number, this could be an indication that the person is married.
Don't give out personal information (like your address) until the other person has earned your trust.
Try to do a background check on the person before you agree to meet.
Try to see a picture first so that when you meet in person, you know who you're looking for.

Now that the person in question has passed the background check and all the other requirements, you can proceed with the next step in your potential online romance--meeting. Here are some good "rules" to follow for that first meeting.

Always agree to meet the person in a public place. This is not the time to visit each other at home. You don't really know this person that well yet.
Let your friends and/or family know what your plans are. That way, if anything suspicious happens, at least someone knows what your plans for the evening were and who you were with.
If it's possible, make your first meeting among a big group of friends who won't be intrusive.

These tips aren't meant to take the romance out of your online romance, they're meant to keep you safe. True, they're basic common sense tips, but sometimes love (or the possibility of it) can make you blind to things that would otherwise be right in front of you. Once you get past these things, your online romance just might have a chance to grow!

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