by Darcey Lee

Created on: May 17, 2009

Ask yourself this question please.

If you were to go to a prison, and you were asked to fill out a profile page for the boys inside who are looking for love when they are released. Would you be willing to pour out your personal info like phone number, address, location, place of work and more, so it can be handed out to the prison inmates? I do not think so.

Who is reading your profile online? Do you know for sure that they are not a rapist, child molester or a murderer? No, as a matter of fact, you have no clue of who is reading your profile. Out of all the people who access computers, do you think everyone who views your profile is of good nature? Just because you may be of good nature does not mean everyone who clicks your profile is as well.

Online profiles should contain surface information. Online searches are also very easy to do if someone wants to locate you bad enough.

Suggested information for online profile information

Instead of posting your exact area of where you live, pick the next town over instead to post on the Internet.

Instead of posting your first and last name, post your first name if you like and miss a couple letters in your last name, so it is not exact spelling.

Sure you can post a picture of yourself but keep it clean? The naughty photo stuff can easily attract the wrong kind of obsessive mind.

As far as posting your phone number in your profile? This is a bad idea. Every wacko out there can contact you. A lot of people feel posting their cell phone is a safe thing to do. Wrong! Online searches have reverse lookups for cell phone numbers as well.

Posting your work location or school location? This is another bad idea. If your profile is read by a creeper and he or she decides they are fixated on you, there are stalkers out there who will sit outside your school or work and watch you, follow you then find out where you live.

Does all this sound paranoid to you? Are you one of those people who feel that this kind of bad luck could never happen to you?

This is reality. Online is a sea of mysteries. Why bare all information and set yourself up to be a target to a crazy mind, or dangerous pervert? These kinds of people are among our online chatters as well.

I use the example of prison because there are inmates who have been let out of prison and the Internet is a prime place for them to re-enter communicating with society. There are predators out there that are not of a sound mind, who will gain the trust of sincere people only to end up their nightmare.

Online profiles these days provide way too much information. This is not meant to say that you should lie in your profile. No not at all, but there is a fine line between too much information and not enough information.

An online profile page is basically an introduction page introducing you. A first impression page so the world can see who you are.

Keep it safe and just put surface information. You can be truthful, but do not bare all information that can set you up for a possible living nightmare.

Online profiles are viewed by massive amounts of people unknown to you which guaranteed many you would not want to know.

Do not give out personal information about yourself.

Stay safe!

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