Chapter Eleven. Step 8: Date Safely Online


Suzanne and her girlfriends had been talking about Internet dating for months, but nobody had the nerve to try it. One night while they were out together, the women decided it was time for one of them to go for it. They took a vote, and Suzanne was elected.

The following evening, Suzanne and her friend Michelle sat down to compose her listing. They agreed to post it for one month on a dating site with a good reputation, and to play it safe by creating a fake name and using an e mail account provided by the service for replies. Before finalizing her personal ad, Suzanne uploaded a picture of herself from her college graduation party a year ago. She was wearing a short-sleeved top and shorts, smiling into the camera as her father took her picture in their backyard.

The next evening, Suzanne logged on to her online dating e-mail account to pick up any messages from prospective dates. A few were trashy and she deleted them immediately, relieved that she had given a fake name and was not using her regular e-mail address. One or two guys sounded intriguing, so she printed those messages to show Michelle.

As Suzanne continued to read messages, she came across one from a man who said he had been interested in her personal ad until he saw the pornographic personals she was posting on other dating sites. There was one with the name loads_of_fun_4_evry1, and another that said she was looking for "a good time" on the first date.

Suzanne called Michelle in a panic. Michelle came over and together they located the ads the man had mentioned. Mystified, the two young women stared at the innocent picture of Suzanne they had posted only the day before, now modified to show lots of bare skin. As they continued to search online, they discovered with a sinking feeling that Suzanne's modified photo was now posted all over the Internet.

"Oh, no," Suzanne moaned. "What will my parents say?"



Look Both Ways. Help Protect Your Family on the Internet
Look Both Ways: Help Protect Your Family on the Internet
ISBN: 0735623473
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 157
Authors: Linda Criddle

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