Meeting Internet Friends Face to Face

Life is busy, sometimes too busy. It’s hard to find time to go out with friends or to meet new people. There never seems to be time after work to go out and just talk with friends or coworkers. The internet has replaced most ways that people used to meet and hang out in the past. Everything in life comes down to multitasking. Talking on the phone while driving, doing housework, and shopping is normal now. Cooking while doing housework and helping kids with homework is now standard procedure.  Even while surfing the internet, people may also be on the phone, working, or watching television. Sometimes when surfing the internet they might meet someone who has similar interests or hobbies and build good, strong friendships that may last for years. While it gives people a practical way to make friends; it also gives people with less than honorable intentions a way to hide their true agenda.  Sometimes the people you make friends with on the internet live close enough that, once you get to know them, you might want to meet them in person.

With all of the social networking that people do now on Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Chat Sites and through Instant Messengers; there may be a time when you will find that one of your internet friends live close enough to you that you could meet them in person. The idea of meeting someone, especially someone you are attracted to, face to face is exciting, intimidating and maybe a little scary.

There is so much on the news about the evils of socializing on the internet that most people are hesitant to provide any personal information. That’s one of the reasons that people create a username for their accounts. Protecting ourselves mentally and physically from someone we really don’t know is very important.

There are necessary precautions that someone needs to take when meeting an online friend for the first time. It’s not saying you don’t trust the person you plan to meet but the only information you have about them are things they have told you. If someone is a kidnapper, rapist, or murderer; they aren’t likely to share that information.

Not all evil people look evil. Have you ever watched a news broadcast where they interview the neighbors of a killer? The neighbors always say how quiet the person was, how they kept the lawn up and always waved, how they participated in the church and how shocked they are to know there are bodies in the basement.

As much as you want to trust the person you are meeting has been honest with you and is meeting you for a positive experience, you still need to protect yourself when you first meet someone. There are some really simple things you can do that won’t make the other person uncomfortable and should allow you to relax and enjoy yourself.

I recommend driving separately to the meeting. There are a couple of reasons to do this. First, you don’t know this person and don’t want them at your home until you do. Second, you want to have transportation available in case things don’t go well and you want to leave.

You will also want to choose a place for a meeting that is public but not so crowded that you can’t talk. It also needs to be something that you would both enjoy. Depending on the time of year and the part of country you live in, a public park might be a good choice. Most parks are patrolled by police or park rangers. Usually there is enough activity at the park but enough space that you can take a walk or sit and talk. The food court of a mall provides similar public privacy as a park if the weather is bad.

Another thing you want to do is make sure that someone knows who you are meeting and where you are meeting them. Whether it’s a friend, family member or coworker, you want to make sure someone knows where you are. Set up a time that you will call them to report in. Maybe an hour after the meeting time you call and just give them an idea of how things are going. If it seems like making a call would be rude, then have your contact person call to check on you.

These are just a couple of ideas of things you can do to try to protect yourself. It may seem like if you have to take these measures you shouldn’t even meet the person but meeting them is not the issue. The person you are meeting might have been just as honest and sincere as you were when talking in chat, emailing, on the phone or on an instant messenger. More likely than not, they are also nervous about meeting you. These are precautions that everyone should take in order to feel safe and allow for a more relaxing meeting. If you have any misgivings, there’s nothing wrong with restricting contact to online only.

Online friendships can be very important and are just as real as friendships with people that you know from other places. Most of the people that you meet online are genuine and the relationships you have with them are real. News on internet friendships is similar to news on air travel, automobiles and others; most of the time only the bad things are reported.

I have met two friends that I made on the internet in person and both meetings went well. We had a good time and remained in contact after the meeting. I recommend that if you feel like you would like to know someone away from the computer that you follow your instincts and be careful when setting up a meeting.