Search Weight Loss Topics:

Home » How to lose weight safely » 7 safety tips to remember for online dating – Los Angeles Times

When searching for Mr. or Ms. Right, online dating is now so widely accepted that personal safety sometimes gets overlooked.

After all, most dates that start online end up in either a love connection or with the two of you going your separate ways.

But it is easy to let your guard down or find yourself in an unsafe situation especially if Grey Goose swoops in. Thats why its important to have a few common-sense strategies that keep you safe, according to law enforcement experts and others.

Here are seven tips to keep in mind as you look for love online:

1. Tell someone

Tell your friends where youre going and when youll be home, saidHelen Fisher, a senior research fellow with the famed Kinsey Institute and chief scientific advisor to Match.com. Create a routine with a buddy that includes checking in by phone if the date goesto another location, when it wraps up and when youre safely home. Sure, it seems like a lot of workunless something actually goes wrong.

2. Go easy on the alcohol

Sorry for the buzzkill, but Fisher advises making the first date alcohol free. If you do drink, Det. Trent Thurber, who works on the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Departments high-tech task force, suggested limiting alcohol and added, Dont let someone bring a drink to you unless you see it come straight from the bar or waitstaff.(Since the beginning of 2015, there have been 85 reported incidents of rape by intoxication in Los Angeles County, he said.)

3. Limit the personal data you reveal

This goes beyond what you reveal to a Tinder date. In general, practice a little discretion, experts said. You dont want personal details, such as your address, or precisely where you plan to be on Saturday night, floating around out there on social media. Most of the time, it wont matter unless it does.

4. Do a little online sleuthing

Although you dont want to reveal too much about yourself,dont hesitate to take advantage of a suitor who doesnt follow suit. Local celebrity chef Devin Alexander saidshe Googles every date even searching for their photos and phone number.

Youd be surprised what Ive found. Everything from peoples addresses to engagement announcements, to someone selling an engagement ring on Craigslist, Alexander said. This stuff can lead to learning who the person really is. (And maybe how old they really are.)

5. Talk actually talk before the first date

It may be tempting to schedule the first datevia text message. But dont. Talking by phone will help you get a feel for the person, Thurber said.

Ask as many questions as you can to vet them even ask some awkward questions, says Thurber. Ask if they have ever been arrested, Thurber suggested. (No doubt, a bold question, and the person could lie. But how they respond allows your intuition to kick in.)

6. Theres safety in crowds

Hiking seems like a romantic first date, considering all the great hiking and walking spots available in Los Angeles County. But a hiking date could take you to a remote location with a stranger, andits likely to mean spending hours together with someone you might have an immediate aversion to.

Fisher suggests keeping the first date to about one hour, and always meet in a public place during the day.

7. Go home alone

This might be the single most controversial bit of advice on thislist. (It certainly sounds boring and old fashioned.) But Thurber argued his point this way: Youre still getting to know this stranger.Whether he or she becomes the love of your life is yet to be determined thats why its always good to exercise some caution, he said.

What do you think? Any advice that we should have mentioned? Or should have left out?

Tell us at Health@latimes.com

Are you a veteran of L.A.s dating scene? We want to tell your story in our weekly reader column, L.A. Affairs

READ ON!

Why midnight snacking is the worst

7 reasons why you can't lose the weight

Actress Sofia Vergara's secret? Lifting weights

See the original post:
7 safety tips to remember for online dating - Los Angeles Times

Your Full Name
Your Email
Your Phone Number
Select your age (30+ only)	30313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596979899100101102103104105106107108109110111112113114115116117118119120
Select Your US State	Select Your StateAlabamaAlaskaArizonaArkansasCaliforniaColoradoConnecticutDelawareFloridaGeorgiaHawaiiIdahoIllinoisIndianaIowaKansasKentuckyLouisianaMaineMarylandMassachusettsMichiganMinnesotaMississippiMissouriMontanaNebraskaNevadaNew HampshireNew JerseyNew MexicoNew YorkNorth CarolinaNorth DakotaOhioOklahomaOregonPennsylvaniaRhode IslandSouth CarolinaSouth DakotaTennesseeTexasUtahVermontVirginiaWashingtonWashington,DCWest VirginiaWisconsinWyoming
Program Choice	Select Your ProgramInjectable HGHInjectable TestoteroneInjectable SermorelinInjectable Weight LossInjectable HCG DietInjectable Vitamins
Confirm over 30 years old	Yes
Confirm that you resident in USA	Yes
This is a Serious Inquiry	Yes
Message:

Home » How to lose weight safely » 7 safety tips to remember for online dating – Los Angeles Times