As young people in the digital era, many of us prefer making connections and meeting new people through social media.
Being online means you can always make good friends, or even find love, anywhere in the world which is great to know especially if you’re an introvert.
But as convenient and exciting as it seems, the reality is that it can be really dangerous. So if you’re interested in meeting someone online, you need to remember a few things.
Below are some risks associated with this method of searching for a hookup, kinship, date, relationship, marriage, or some other kind of arrangement:
1. Fake accounts
People over the internet are not always honest about who they are so you might get cat-fished. This is when someone lures you into a relationship using a fake online persona all the way to how they look. Another thing is, they might be in a real-life relationship and you will find yourself in a situationship or worse, a side chic.
To avoid being scammed by a fake profile, download their profile picture and do a Google image search.
If the person is using someone else’s picture, you’ll be able to see the results you find. It’s also a red flag if you’ve been “dating” someone for a long time and they refuse to meet in person.
2. Scams
Online safety and security are not always guaranteed in the cyber world. As much as you can feel like you trust your online partner, you may also be a victim of scamming and identity theft.
No matter how hard you fall for someone online, don’t give them your personal details like bank account details, home address, ID number, personal pictures or anything else that gives someone personal access to your life, especially if you’ve never met them or built trust.
People often pretend to want a relationship online and then start to ask you for things like money or nude pictures. Do not fall for any of this nonsense.
3. Human trafficking is real
With the rise in human trafficking, it’s not always safe for you to be meeting up with strangers. And guess what? Traffickers like using social media to lure young people into dangerous situations that might get them trafficked.
This isn’t to scare you away from meeting up with people, it’s just important for you to understand the risks and learn how to be safe.
You also need to be very suspicious if your new lover offers you a job or wants you to model for them. Job offers online are the most popular ways to lure people into being trafficked.
4. Risk of getting sexually assaulted
Considering you can’t really know a person’s true intentions, especially if you met them online, it’s easy for you to fall victim to any crime including sexual assault.
Many sex offenders seek their next victims online and often pretend to be young in order to lure people much younger than them. If you’re underage, do not physically meet someone you met online alone. Alert someone and if you really have to, let it be at a safe and public place you have picked yourself.
5. Blackmail
In spite of headway toward making retribution pornography unlawful, this kind of misuse keeps on being a significant issue.
Ladies, specifically, are helpless and should avoid potential risk so they are not defrauded by having their private nude pictures shared by ex-accomplices, programmers, and individuals they meet on the web.
Do not share or record any suggestive or sexual videos for your new lover no matter how much they try to convince you. You may come to regret it for the rest of your life.
