The internet is filled with dating sites that are designed to match you up with the person that you will hopefully spend the rest of your life with. While this is all well and good, it's not everyone who is looking to get married and settle down. If the success of apps like Tinder and Grindr taught us anything, it's that there are still plenty of people out there looking for a casual hook-up and maybe a few extra friends with benefits.
There are now plenty of great dating sites for those looking for casual sex, but before you dive right in, there are some tips you should follow that will help you stay safe on such sites.
Personal Information and Privacy
Perhaps the most obvious of these tips is that you should be careful with the information that you share. A username id oftentimes much better than your real name in that regard, and while sharing some basic personal information is fine, going into detail about where you live and the places that you hang out can serve as too much information for the few creeps who hang around on these casual dating sites.
Choose a Public Place
If you do come across someone that you want to hook up with, and they feel the same way, there are some steps that you should follow to stay safe. When you arrange to meet, choose a public place that you know will be busy, with a coffee shop always a good idea. This gives you the opportunity to make sure that who you are meeting is who they said they were, whilst also giving you a chance to get to know them a little better. You can then decide if this is indeed someone you want to hop into the sack with for some fun.
Tell a Friend
A hotel room is also a good idea, as it's never wise to take someone you barely know back to your place. If you have all the details down of where you are going, make sure to tell a friend, and also give them some sort of time frame that you expect to be gone. Sure, you may well get carried away in the throes of passion, but having someone else know who you are meeting, where you are going, and roughly how long you will be gone is just plain smart. Arrange your own vehicle to and from where you are going to, as it's never a good idea to get into the car of someone who is basically a stranger.
These few tips should help you stay safe when you spend time on casual dating sites, but we can't possibly finish this up without talking about safe sex. Sure, you may nit think it's particularly coo, to wear a condom every single time, but the potential alternatives make carrying some rubbers the right thing to do. Insist that a condom be used during your casual hook-ups, and make it a deal breaker if they are not.
