If you are also someone who spends a lot of time online, bear in mind that you are not alone. Now, if this is something you are thinking about, there are likely to be many other individuals who share your viewpoint. However, you need to use caution when you’re about to make online friends, just like you would when online dating. After all, you can’t know what they are capable of because you don’t know them well.
However, there are ways for you to make friends online while still protecting yourself, which is excellent news. The best advice to ensure this is to do the following:
- Pick the appropriate apps
Always use a well-recognised chatting app to make new friends. These chatting apps have been created especially for those seeking friendship without romantic commitments. But not all of these apps are made equal. Safer places exist than others. You should stick with apps that take extra precautions to ensure that only genuine individuals sign up. Doing this gives you a better chance of staying secure with your new acquaintances. Focusing on apps that enable you to find people of the same gender as you may be another thing you want to attempt. Women who feel better at ease around other women should pay particular attention to this.
- Keep your personal information to a minimum
If you use a video call app to chat with online friends, you will usually be required to provide a brief bio. This gives potential friends a glimpse into your personality or, at the very least, your hobbies. It is preferable to avoid providing too much information in these parts. Keep it simple by saying things like, “I enjoy reading,” or “I’d like to meet people who enjoy music.”
Also, pay attention to the questions that your online friends ask you. Do these seem extremely intimate or like routine questions? If it fits into the latter category, you should put that online friendship on hold, at least temporarily.
- Conduct the necessary research
In reality, discovering who your friend is shouldn’t take too long. You need to perform a little background research on this person if you find them interesting and want to talk to them more. You won’t need to do anything drastic, so don’t worry.
Not to mention, you can tell if they have been entirely honest with you about their lives by looking at photographs and writings. After all, you will need to know the truth if someone has claimed to be single when they are truly married with kids.
- Embrace your intuition
Even in the digital era, this sentiment—which may seem a bit archaic—is crucial. Make it a point to listen to what that inner voice is saying while conversing with someone. Remember that your subconscious may detect red flags you aren’t yet aware of.
Meet your “buddy” in a well-known location.
Online daters have heard this advice repeatedly, but it’s also crucial for buddy meet-ups to take place in public places. Again, you can’t really put your full trust in someone you’ve never met. So, if you determine it is time to see one another, you should set up the site at a popular bar, restaurant, or café.
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