One of the newest and most popular crazes of the last decade is on-line dating. There are millions of sites such as Eharmony that are here to help people “connect”. The on-line dating industry is estimated to have a  profit of over $1 billion dollars this year alone! But as with most things that seem too good to be true- on-line dating has many cons and has lead to many tragedies since it’s emergence. 

This year there have been many horrendous cases surrounding Craiglist when it comes to dating .Numbers show that around ten percent of sex offenders use Myspace. This means that 1 out of 10 people you speak to on here are sex offenders! We are constantly seeing news in which abductions and murders are being linked with on-line dating and networking sites.

So other than these obvious frightful cases to worry about when entering the on-line dating realm, lets look at some of the other issues we face.

Lying-okay so we all do it occasionally. We want a date for goodness sake so when it asks for our age or weight, we fudge the numbers some. The thing is that many fudge the numbers and information way past little white lies. The truth is that you never know who is on the other side. You never know if that is their picture. (Or if that is a picture that is of them now and not them in their college years).Many people may not lie rather than euphanize the situation. Example: I am a healthy woman. Okay, so this could mean that she really is a healthy person or it could mean that she is overweight. There are these obvious downfalls of lying such as meeting a much older, balder, person than described who lied about all of their interests on their profile. But there are those who lie and end up being pedophiles, rapists, murders etc.

Problems with socializing. Okay so perhaps most people get into on-line dating because they are too busy to go out and date or they like the convenience and want to broaden their market but some people may try on-line dating because they have problems socializing in life with people.

Pitfalls- after experiencing the thrill and life of on-line dating you may get addicted and have trouble allow yourself to date “real” life people.

Scams-it is sad but many people end up broke and not just from site fees. There are many people who log into dating sites with the explicit reason of financial gain- and you are the target.

As mentioned above, site fees can add up to quite a sum, especially if you are a member to multiple sites.

So, it is key to always be safe. Do not put your home phone number or address on the web and wait a while before giving this information to anyone. It is advisable to do research on the site that you are wanting to join to make sure that they are credible. If you decide to meet someone, meet in a public place and do not invite the person back to your house the first time you meet them. It is also advisable to wait until several meetings to become sexually involved with someone. The first few times you meet someone you will both be on your best behaviors and so it is imperative to really get to know the person in person before taking that step. Read between the lines, do cross checks, and never believe everything you read and hear.