Safety First.
Welcome to the end of 2019 where most interactions are made online. We spend the majority of our time on the internet, so why not make friends there? If you’re not too invested in the web like the majority of us you may think making friends online is still as sketchy, scary, and unsafe as it was in the early 2000’s. Although not every situation is safe, making friends online has become the new normal and many millennials would shudder at the idea of making friends in person. Instagram, Snapchat, Facebook, and friend matching sites such as Bumble have changed the way we interact forever. Typically, we aren’t looking for friends in bookstores, coffee shops, or local classes anymore. We are meeting in online chatrooms with people who share the same interests as we do as opposed to meeting in a class, we find pages we like on Instagram instead of saying “hey, cute outfit!’’ in person, and send DM’s instead of letters. We are a technologically advanced society now whose priorities have shifted, free time seems to diminish, and more and more of us are not wanting to leave our homes to make friends.
Fortunately, due to technology and social media we can still be socially active and make friends, if not more friends than before the rise of social media. Social media and friend finding platforms, can be scary at times. However, with the right level of awareness and safety, we are able to make friends clear across the world without having to travel, wait weeks for snail-mail, or leave our homes. Online friend connections are real and can still thrive just as any face-to-face friendship would. However, with this reward comes the responsibility of practicing safety while on the internet.
Google is Your Friend: Just met someone awesome online? Do a little investigative work. Learn the difference between what poses as a fake account and what is legitimate. Odds are there will be childhood friends, dated photos, older postings. Was everything added in a weeks’ time? Red flag. Has this person been posting photos of themselves for a few years? More believable. Don’t feel guilty for image searching or Googling this person’s name. The internet can be scary and your safety comes above all else. Look for consistency across their channels, friends they’ve had for years, and photos that seem legitimate. You’d be surprised by the amount of information you can find just by doing a quick sweep through Google and their social media channels.
Have a Gut Feeling? Always follow your gut. The internet is a large, and sometimes scary place. There are plenty of friends to be made, so denying a couple of requests that you aren’t feeling great about won’t hurt anyone. Following intuition and instincts is something you’ll need to practice. Making friends online is great, but with that comes the lack of face-to-face interactions and being able to use our instinctual human qualities to decipher between what is truth and what is not. Not being able to watch someone’s facial expressions is a hard adjustment when speaking through monotone texts and DM’s. Pay attention to any negative feelings someone brings about within you.
Let’s Start Making Friends!
Friendships take time, trust, and nurturing to grow, and online friends are no exception. Just like making friends in person, you have to get out there and start somewhere. Making friends online can be a huge lifesaver to those who may live in rural areas, are new to cities, or have social anxiety. If the internet has taught us anything, it is that we can sit behind a screen and let our true selves shine. We can express our confidence, our creativity, and have a space to be ourselves.
Find chatgroups of topics, hobbies, and things you are interested in. This can allow for the ice to break quicker when you can speak with like-minded individuals who share your hobbies and interests. Find people you’d want to be friends with, not just people to talk to because you are bored. Doing so will not result in friendship, just temporary conversations.
If you’re looking to meet people in person but are wanting to use the internet as a gateway, start researching apps such as Meet-Up, Eventbrite, or Bumble to find local events! These are events that are put on by an organization and are usually conducted within a public environment. This is great for individuals who are skeptical about meeting strangers! These are events that are put on by an organization and are usually conducted within a public environment. These kinds of apps provide an environment to meet new friends in a public setting, and odds are you have a lot in common if you are attending the same event!
If you have been speaking with someone for a while and are wanting to meet in person keep these tips in mind.
Time: Have you been speaking for a substantial amount of time? If not, maybe wait a little longer. You want to know an individual, or at least their intentions, before opening that door to real-world meet-ups. Not everyone on the internet has bad intentions, but unfortunately, we have to look out for those who do. Time will show you a person’s true intentions!
Location: We can’t stress enough that meeting in public is very important for your first meeting. Remember, you’ve only spoken with them online and everyone can put on a face. Meeting in public eliminates many risks and secures your safety!
The internet is amazing! We definitely think so. However, it’s also a scary place. The rise of the internet has provided us all with opportunities to meet people we never would of met years back. We can go specifically find groups of people who are interested in the same things we are. We can find belonging, community, and friendship. Use these tips to help eliminate risk and safely meet friends online!
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