Online matchmaking is a dangerous field to thread, and it’s not just scammers we are talking about. According to some aggravating statistics, more than one million women and around 370,000 men fell victim of cyberstalking each year, and the numbers don’t cease to grow. Cyberstalking is a phenomenon brought to life by the rapid growth in popularity of social media platforms, forums and dating sites. Even though cyberstalking isn’t particularly new, authorities and legal services still struggle to deal with this kind of harassment. Even users have a hard time noticing the red flags, which is why there are so many dating stories about stalkers or clingy date partners on Reddit and other forums.
Cyberstalking: The Virus of Online Dating
The reason why most daters don’t see it coming is because most stalkers act pretty decent during the initial contact. Most victims reported that they were unsuspecting, as their soon-to-be harasser seemed like a funny, intelligent and attractive person. You see, a bullet can only be dodged if the person looks like a weirdo from the beginning. Cyberstalking is like a virus: the victim is unaware when contacting the source and it brews secretly until it suddenly erupts. Then it starts spreading quickly, infecting other parts of the body. What does this mean? The trigger word for stalkers is usually a no, or a gesture of refusal. Everything is fine, you exchange witty banter and flirting messages with your dating partner, but all it takes is a few missed calls or the last-minute cancellation of a date, and things turn ugly.
Suddenly the person appears in front of your door or at your workplace (even though you never shared the exact location), calls several times during the day, sends dozens of roses etc. And the worst thing: breaking up only makes them even more vicious. After a stern “no” or “leave me alone”, intimidating or downright insulting messages start pouring in, calling you everything under the sun. And put your hands together if he or she doesn’t start following you around in real life…
The Horrors of Real Life Stalkers
Now let’s see some real-life horror stories shared by some unlucky daters. There was a Tinder-champion guy who stopped using the app after meeting a girl, who (not surprisingly) looked alright at first. But the first date revealed that the lady had some serious baggage and not the sort you can shove inside a wardrobe. She complained about her breakup, and showed all the signs of being overly attached, claiming to be falling for our hero on the first date. As the guy tried to backpedal, she got crazier and turned up at his doorstep every day for a whole week, bringing presents or apologizing. Unfortunately, women are prone to run into stalkers as well, because some repressed loners or testosterone-filled machos won’t accept a refusal. A woman made the mistake of bringing her date to her home, only to find a printed card shoved under the doorstep the other day, picturing a sexualized anime girl. Another online dater only realized that her partner (who had some obscure profile images) is the old school-librarian who was fired for looking at porn on the public computers. So make sure to be open about your intentions to avoid cyberstalkers.
Best Dating Sites of 2023
| Rank | Dating Site | Info | Visit |
1 | Editor's Choice 2023  |
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