Dean Answers Questions About Internet Dating Horror Stories

Dean answers:

I think most people will simply tell you what they think you’d like to hear about themselves. The internet makes things incredibly easy, and while you may have been talking to someone for a long time and think you know them, how can you be sure unless you’ve actually me them? How do you know those pictures they sent you are really them? How do you know they really have a stable job?

Some people you meet are the real deal. But even big sites like eHarmony has it’s own deluge of new applicants and long-time members that are only there for advertising and getting those gullible enough to give away their money.

Dean answers:

He shoyld have been honest with you. Better luck next time

Dean answers:

The best defense is a good offense; educate yourself on the dangers and saftey precautions you can take.

A good book to read to educate yourself and older teens is “To Catch A Predator” by Chris Hansen, especially the chaper on Kacie Woods. She was a 12 year old girl who befriended what she thought was a cool 17 year old boy (not as a boyfriend, just a friend) in California in a Christian chat room and she and her friends even talked to him on the phone. There was never any arrangements or even discussions for them to meet. He turned out to to be a middle-aged creep that tracked her down from several states away, abducted her from her home while her father, a cop, was at work, raped and murdered her.

Here is an excerpt from the webpage below on MSNBC’s “To Catch A Predator” for all ages, but the link below has more specific tips depending on the child’s age.

” Teach your children to:

Think before they click: With whom are they chatting or e-mailing, what are they saying and how are they saying it? Will the person on the other end know they are joking?
Walk away from the computer and “Take 5” before responding to something that upsets them online
Avoid spreading rumors, assisting in cyberbullying or sharing private communications online.
Follow the golden rule of cyberspace: Don’t do anything online that you wouldn’t do in real life!
Follow responsible safety practices yourself:

Install spyware and adware blocking software on your computer
Make sure you have a working firewall
Install anti-virus software and update it regularly
Take advantage of spam-blocking tools offered by your Internet provider or e-mail software ”

For my son, I have told him never give out your last name, never indicate what school you go to, never give out our phone number, never give out your e-mail address outside of MySpace, be careful of what pictures you post to ensure that none will show what school you go to or where we live. Above all, never assume, even is someone posts a picture or pictures of themselves that that is who you are really talking to, it could be a predator.

Dean answers:

Wow, horror sounds fun, probably not, the internet is a creepy place…

Dean answers:

If I were moving, I would schedule my new service now so that you will actually get it when you want it. They will give you a time frame. Some seasons are busier than others. I would not cancel my present service until I was actually leaving. If it is their equipment, you have to return it, if not, you take it with you. We have our internet on a part time basis in our part time house and call them to tell them to shut off the service the day before we leave. I have never had a problem doing that. Getting new service is the hard part, turning off is the easy part.

Dean answers:

I think it does work if it’s handled correctly and in the right way. (I might be biased b/c I met my boyfriend online though lol) But obviously I think you have to know the person for a while and really trust them.. You don’t want to just go meet some random creep that you started talking to yesterday b/c there are a lot of weirdos and anti social creeps out there on the internet. If it feels right, you just know it.. Then when you meet in person, it doesn’t matter how you met if you really like them.

Dean answers:

Well, I actually work for a dating service called Great Expectations, which is Nationwide and they do have a pretty huge success rate, however its not an “online dating service” ( which is a good thing, if you think about it. Because you never know who your really talking to, online. People tend to lie, exaggerate, post fake or outdated pictures and so forth). We do background checks to ensure the safety of our members and gaurantee the information is accurate. However if your looking for a cheap/ inexpensive online site, I’d say your best bet is either Lovehappens or Plenty of Fish. Their both free of charge, you can recieve messages and everything for free. However with Lovehappens, you would have to pay a certain amount if you wanted to email a particular guy, but when I was a member, most of the guys just emailed me with their emails or phone numbers and I responded to them that way, and never had to come out of pocket. My only complaint, is most of the people on online dating sites, especially the free ones, tend to not be as serious and are only their to see what type of responses they get, whereas the sites or services where you pay money, usually the majority are there for a reason, which is to find that perfect someone for them. So, its up to you. If your interested in Great Expectations or at least checking it out, feel free to go to their website.. They have 55 centers nationwide, covering almost every state. Or you could always email me for more info. Ive been with them for 4 years now.

Dean answers:

Never resorted to that. Have sadly looked at sites for friends who went on them looking for guys
the guys were total dorks and desperete geeks

the only thing you & I have in common is that CL ads are hilarious for a good laugh every now and then if you are in the mood to look at that sick & twisted crap

Dean answers:

No i would fear to date someone online espically when there are hate crimes against Gays in this world today better go to a Gay bar