While dating is fun and opens us to the possibilities of finding new partners, it involves some risk. You have to trust that the new person you are dating will not harm you and hope that they have no ill motives. Luckily, there are fewer chances of meeting a person who is out to harm you than of meeting well-intentioned people. But there is still a little risk.
You will likely find some of the people you date online through the various dating and hookup sites and apps, so you know almost nothing about them. As such, it would be best to set some dating boundaries to help you feel safe until such a time when you know the person well. However, if you met your date through a family member, colleague, or friend, the chance is that they know the person and will have vetted them so you are safer with them. All the same, you will need some time to get to know them yourself, so you will still have to set some dating boundaries.
Here are some ways you can set some dating boundaries that help you feel safe:
Do an Online Background Search
You can rely on the various online resources to scrutinize a person and get to know them better. Perform a Google search of their name to see what information you can find about them. Also, look up their social media accounts. It would help to comb through their social pages to know who they are, their interests, how many friends they have, and what types of people they relate with. You can gather a ton of information from a person’s online presence and activity. And using the information, you can set your boundaries to ensure that you are safe.
Converse on Telephone Before Meeting
In case you met online through a dating site like Happymatches, you need to first have a serious phone conversation before meeting physically. You can find out something about a person from your conversation with them over the phone. Some of the things to find out include if you feel some connection with them. In addition, you can get some crucial cues from their voice, for example if they are predatory, creepy, dictatorial, and so on. From the idea you get of the date, you can plan how to handle them or even end interactions with them.
Withhold Details on Workplace and Residential Area
Since you are unsure what kind of a person your date is, you need to be economical with details of your workplace address as well as your home. You would not want a creeper to know where you live, lest they show up. Similarly, avoid divulging information about where you work, and you can avoid it by giving vague answers if they inquire where you work. You could tell them you work in administration if they ask and then divert the discussion to other things.
Other measures to put up boundaries to help you feel safe as you date are meeting only in public places, and not going to their house before you know them deeply and have no reason to feel unsafe. You also need to make sure that you do not leave your drinks and meals with them while meeting to avoid the possibility of being drugged since you do not know the person well.
