Valentine’s Day, some love it and some loathe it.
Contrary to popular belief, you don’t have to be in a committed and loving relationship to celebrate. There are most definitely a couple of lonely hearts that will link up to celebrate even if they are just meeting for the first time. After all, love has got to start somewhere right?
If you’re one of those people who is going out with a potential new boo, there are a few things we should remember this Valentine’s Day and every first date that follows.
Look For Red Flags Before Your First Date
If you’re using a dating app such as Tinder, always make sure you are feeling comfortable meeting up with someone.
Some notable red flags are a person becoming sexual or making advances on you too soon. Anyone looking for a real relationship will take the time to get to know someone before expressing too much attraction to you.
You should be chatting for a couple of days at least before planning a date with someone just so you get a better idea of what kind of person they are.
Share Your Location With A Friend
Growing up, we all hated the “Find My iPhone” feature. It prevented us from sneaking out or deceiving our parents about where we were. Now, it is a lifesaver.
Sharing your location with your friends is vital because if something were to happen to you, they would know where you have been.
Apple gives directions on how to use this feature, “open the Messages app on your iPhone and select a message. Select the name of the person or group at the top of the conversation. Select Send My Current Location.”
Pick A Public Location For The Date
It can be quite nerve-wracking to immediately go to someone’s place to hang out. There are numerous reasons why this may be a bad idea.
Being in their home might make it harder to leave if things aren’t going so great. They could also be a total nutcase and try to harm you, which is harder to do if you’re around a bunch of people.
There are plenty of Reddit first-date horror stories to read and warn you about the dangers of hanging out with a stranger. Luckily, most of those rarely occur in a restaurant.
Don’t Be Afraid To Hurt Someone’s Feelings
This is probably some of the most important dating advice someone can receive. If your date is making you uncomfortable or being rude, don’t be afraid to tell them straight up you are done with the date and going home.
If you’re in public, they cannot hurt you if you decide you are leaving. Just get an Uber or get back in your car, and go home. Your date is not entitled to anything and you are not obligated to stay when you’re not feeling it.
Bring Some Sort Of Self Defense
Whether it’s pepper spray from your local Rite Aid or your keys between your fingers like wolverine it’s important to always have some sort of self-defense.
You should probably have these on you every time you go out on the town, not just for a date. You never know what could happen when dealing with strangers and you don’t want to take any chances.
Of course, to anyone who has bad or downright horrific first date experiences, it isn’t your fault. And of course, it feels defeating having to tell people if they want to go on a first date they need to share their location with their friends in case they’re harmed in any way. But this is the world we have always lived in, where bad people will try and do bad things to you.
Hopefully, your Valentine’s Day is a day of love and romance and not a future Netflix documentary.
