One of the best things about free internet dating is the sheer number of people you are introduced to via a dating site. But that very thing is also what makes internet dating safety so important. When opening an account and creating a profile, it's important to choose the content your use with care... because you never know who might see that content, or where it may end up.
The same works for social networking sites, like Facebook and Myspace. With so many people on the internet with access to your profile, you have very little control over what people do with the information they learn about you. And while internet dating sites give you a layer of protection in anonymity (you should never give out your whole name or address details on your profile!), your profile is still public and visible on the web. With means you need to take care with it.
Whether choosing what to put up on your internet dating profile or adding to your Facebook page, there are lots of reasons to think twice about the kind of information you provide. Read on for three of the biggest ones.
Reputation
With sites like Facebook, people feel a sort of freedom that they just wouldn't feel otherwise. And so they post personal details about their lives and what they're doing, as well as photos. This information can be copied by anybody and placed just about anywhere on the internet-- even if you think you've made it completely private. People have had their "private" Myspace information and photos posted on forums where they have no control over who has access to it... only to find it spreading throughout the entire internet. These sorts of things stay online forever. Which means that someone may find them whenever they Google your name.
Now, your full name is generally not attached to your internet dating profile. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't take care with your content. Any photos, for instance, that you post on your profile can be copied and used just about anywhere. So if you're tempted to post that great photo of you in your bikini, or that funny photo of you doing a keg stand, you might want to think twice about it.
Your Kids' Safety
If you have kids, you probably already have a good idea of how important it is to know what they're posting to their online profiles. But you also have to take care when posting to your own, whether it be a social networking profile or your internet dating profile. Giving away too much information about your kids can put them in danger. Plus, any photos that you put up, even if it's just a simple one of you and your kids for your internet dating profile, can be taken and repurposed for other things. You don't want your kids' images out there for whoever wants them, even if the people who see them don't know who you are.
Your Career
While you probably don't send links to you internet dating profiles to all your co-workers, it doesn't mean that your profile doesn't get out there. Especially if you link to it from a social networking page, people who look up your full name will have access to your profile-- and all of the information therein. It's now common practice for employers to look at the Facebook or Myspace profiles of potential employees. If they can follow a link to your dating profile, they'll have access to everything you say there-- including your joking comment that your biggest dream in life is to run over your boss with a semi.
None of this means that you can't link to your internet dating profile from your Myspace or Facebook page. But it does mean that you should always take care with what you put out there about yourself-- even if it doesn't have your full name attached. You never know when your words may come back to bite you.
