When meeting a stranger for the first time in real life, there are ways to keep yourself safe, which is exactly what we want to touch on here. Your date does not need to know your full first and last name, phone number, e-mail address or worse yet, your home address.
Keep your personal information as private as possible. This also means you should avoid linking your Instagram or social media channels to your dating profiles or at the very least, keep your social media private.
Finally, when you go on your date, be mindful to keep your conversation topics away from what town you live in, where you work or who you know. The goal here is to place yourself in neutral territory. Choose places that tend to stay busy. It may even be helpful to show up to your date location early so you can let your server or bartender know you are meeting a stranger and would appreciate if they looked out for you.
Finally, use your own form of transportation to get yourself to and back home from your date. You can even come up with a safe word for check-ins or make a pact to text them every minutes.
Having a few drinks can help you loosen up and enjoy your date more, but it can also be a major safety hazard. The last thing you want is to not have your wits about you when a familiar stranger is accompanying you. Our recommendation is to stick to one drink. If you really want a second, third or even fourth drink, you can always go out for drinks with friends afterward to gossip about your date. If something feels off, trust your instincts β it has gotten you this far.
