Sooner or later, most of us want to meet our newfound online friends offline and see if the person behind the screen is someone that we like to spend time with outside the Internet as well. Before you go about and set up a first meeting, there are several things to keep in mind.

1.) Have you been honest about yourself and your expectations? If not, you are wasting someone’s time and being dishonest is not a good way of getting new friends or building a romantic relationship. If you are guilty of a white lie, e.g. if the picture you sent was taken 10 years ago, the honourable thing is to come clean before you meet each other offline. Your prospective date can then decide for herself if she still wants to see you, and she can make the decision in the comfort of her own home instead of having to go through the discomfort of arriving to a date only to find out that the person she has agreed to see look nothing like his picture. You may think that the best course of action is to say nothing and then win her over with your charm during the date, but arriving to a date only to find out that the person look nothing like their picture will give most people a chill. Her first thought will probably be “If he has lied about this, what else is he lying about?”

2.) Do not assume that women are the only ones who need to be concerned about safety issues. Just as in the offline world, the Internet is filled with both good and bad people, and staying away from the bad people is equally important for both sexes. There heave been several highly publicised cases where men have been robbed, scammed or even physically injured by their “dates”.

3.) Keep in mind that if you give someone your telephone number, they can do a reverse search and find out your home address. There are also a few nutcases out there that will harass people over the phone once they have gotten hold of a number. If you feel concerned, you can get a pre-paid phone card for your cell phone and use it only for online dating. In most countries, you can buy a pre-paid phone card without having to register your home address. If you give out this number to someone and they start harassing you over the phone, you can simply discard the phone card and get a new one with a new number.

4.) Trust your instincts. If something feels really bad, call off the date. Do not go on dates simply to “be nice” or because you feel obliged to after having spent so much time chatting online. Your own safety must be your primary concern. Feeling nervous about a first date is perfectly normal, but feeling really bad is not.

5.) The first few meetings should always be in a public place, e.g. a café or a restaurant. A person that respects you and have honest intentions will never try to pressure you into seeing him or her in a non-public place.

6.) Stay sober. If you allow yourself to become intoxicated during your first date, you may agree do to things that wouldn’t normally do, e.g. agree to follow your date to a non-public place. You may also embarrass yourself in front of your date. If you have been sober during chats and telephone calls, why wouldn’t they like the sober you now?

7.) Sooner or later, most people want to start seeing each other in non-public places, e.g. by going on a trip together or visiting each others homes. When you reach this point, make sure that you tell a close friend what you are up to. Tell him or her about your online date and give out names, addresses, phone numbers, how long you plan on being away and so on. It can also be a good idea to give your friend a call once in a while.