Dear BedPost,
I recently made an online dating profile and I’ve had a little bit of luck. I’ve chatted with some cool people, but there is something about online dating that makes me very nervous. I want to meet up with a guy I met on there, but I’m scared. What do I do?
Dear reader,
The world of online dating can be a really scary place. For every “lonelyniceguy15” there is a “lADeEkiLLEr69” and with a healthy dose of catfish and liars sprinkled in, it’s no wonder the whole thing is a little daunting.
The whole idea of online dating goes against our nature. We’re taught that talking to strangers, and especially meeting up with them, is a huge no-no and that we’re bound to be a skin suit that some weirdo wears to his birthday party before too long.
But alas, online dating is currently a huge reality in this century and just another extension of our innate desire to be constantly immersed in human contact. And that’s OK!
The thing you have to keep in mind is that everyone online is just as nervous as you that the person they meet will be totally awful. With that knowledge, you can go out and keep calm and be queen of the catfish.
Or, ya know, if you’re scared, that’s OK too. Online dating is not for everyone.
Kristin is a junior studying journalism and Culture Editor of The Post.
There are three important rules to remember for an in-person meeting with someone you’ve originally come in contact with on the Internet:
1. Meet in a public place.
2. Meet in a public place.
3. Meet in a public place.
There are all sorts of wonderful stories about two people meeting on a dating site and long-term, happy relationships blossoming. There are also stories about dudes trying to buy a sofa on Craigslist and getting taken for their automobiles. Or worse.
Now, there’s no reason not to think this fellow you’ve met on a site is an upstanding gentleman and exactly who he says he is. You two could hit it off and date for five years, move in together and start a happy family with three kids.
He could also be planning on something a bit more untoward.
Online dating can be a great thing when approached with the same caution as the rest of the web. Go on a date with him. Just do it on Court Street. Don’t go on some romantic walk down at Strouds. He’s probably just a regular kid who wants to meet a cool person to hang out with. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t be careful. The Internet is scary.
Ian Ording is a junior studying journalism and a slot editor at The Post. Think you matched with your true love online? Email us at
thebedpostpeople@gmail.com
This story originally ran in print under the headline "Online dating not necessarily scary"
