Posted on May 27, 2011 by CJ Article Team

The Internet has become a medium for social interaction among people of different races, culture, skin color, social background, etc. to the extent that it is possible to base one’s social life on it. Doing business, finding work, obtaining education, or meeting your potential spouse through a vast availability of sites is possible on the Web.

People readily assume that interacting with somebody who is a complete stranger can be totally harmless and even exciting. They entirely forget that the danger lies in exactly this very fact: they do not know the real person they are interacting with.

A person you meet online can easily create a story that would serve his interests, and there is no way for you know if it is true or not unless you get to know him in person and validate his entire story. This is why we can hear of people being abducted, killed, raped, or simply deceived. To cite an instance, a young Israeli boy of 16 was enticed by a 30-year-old female Arab terrorist who pretended to be an American teenager named Sally some years ago. A seemingly harmless and friendly chat turned ugly and ended up with the boy being kidnapped and shot to death.

This is just one of the many reasons why socializing online is a risky business and caution is extremely necessary. Being wary and cynical can be advantageous to you when it comes to social involvement through cyberspace.

Precautionary measures must be taken to insure your safety if you are to meet a “cyberfriend” for the first time. First on the list would be to make sure that you have a mobile phone with you at all times and make it a point to always be in a public place. Arrange to meet at a place where you can be seen publicly such as a busy fast-food and in broad daylight. Taking a companion with you is always a smart idea for situations like this. Keep your phone number and residential address unknown unless you have established the trustiness of the person.

Once you notice anything suspicious or if the person shows any unusual behavior or tries to entice you into doing something against your safety standards, you will know that it is time to get yourself as far from him as possible. Losing a “friend” because you have been wary is nothing compared to putting your life at risk.

Danielle Freeman has been writing articles about social networking for the past two years. She also likes to write about women’s topics, such as why to use red hair color or dark brown hair color dyes to give yourself a new look.

Danielle Freeman

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Danielle_Freeman