Keeping track of all your single friends, potential dates, and casual acquaintances can be challenging. When you add in the privacy concerns of the new world of social media, it becomes even more difficult to manage all these relationships.
Even if you keep in touch with your friends frequently, things become a little trickier when you’re trying to date someone new. It’s much easier for a friend to see that you’ve changed your relationship status on Facebook if you aren’t dating them directly.
Because of this, there are some precautions that should be taken when dating on Facebook. To make sure things don’t get weird with any old friends or future suitors, here are 17 effective tips for ladies dating on Facebook
1. Don’t be too shy to ask people what they think.
If you’re dating someone new, there are bound to be some bumps in the road. It’s much easier to get through these moments if you have friends who know what’s going on. To ask someone to keep a secret like this, though, can be really difficult.
It makes you feel like you’re asking them to betray your trust because you don’t want them to tell you what they really think. The truth is, though, that most good friends want to help. When they know that you’re dating someone new, they’ll want to know what to look out for. They’ll want to know if they find out something about this person that you should know. Asking for help is a lot easier than you think.
2. Be aware of your privacy settings.
Facebook has a lot of different privacy settings that allow you to control who can see what you post. These put a lot of power in your hands, and it’s important to make sure you know how they work. While you’re dating someone, you want to make sure that they can’t see anything you post to your friends.
The easiest way to do this is to unfriend them. It’s crucial, though, to remember that you’ll have to unfriend them for every account you use. If you have one account for work and one for your personal life, you have to unfriend them from both.
If you only unfriend them on one, that person will still be able to see posts from your other account. If you have multiple accounts, it’s best to unfriend that person from everything. You can always add them back later if you decide you want them to see your posts.
3. Be clear about how you want to use Facebook in your relationship.
This is a big one. Facebook isn’t a dating app. It’s a social media app, used by billions of people. What that means is that you’re posting to friends on every level of your life. It’s easy to get carried away and post stuff to your romantic partner that you’d never post to normal friends.
Even if you’ve only been dating for a short time, it’s important to be careful about how you post. You don’t want to give your friends and family a look at your relationship that isn’t fair to your partner.
Also read: FACEBOOK DATING APP – Facebook Singles Over 40
When you first get into a relationship, you might want to remove your partner from your Work Friends or Family Friends lists. This way, you’re controlling what is and isn’t posted to your partner.
4. Don’t post anything too intimate without checking with your partner first.
This might seem like a weird one, but it’s something that happens often. Things are going great and you’re super excited about your new relationship. You want everyone to know, so you start posting about it left and right. With your friends, this is fine. They’re your friends and they want to know about your life.
With your romantic partner, though, it can be overwhelming. It’s best to wait until you’ve been together for a while before you start posting things like “my love” and “my baby”. Even if you’ve been together for a while, it’s good to check in every now and then and ask your partner how they feel about all of the posts.
5. Don’t treat Facebook as an only form of communication.
Communication is super important in any relationship, especially one that started on Facebook. It’s easy to rely on the written word, but it’s much better if you can talk to each other in person. As soon as you start dating someone, try to get the most out of your relationship. Don’t just talk over Facebook.
Meet up with your friends in person. Take your dates out on real dates. Don’t get so wrapped up in the social media aspects of dating that you forget about the real relationship that you have growing.
Try to talk to your partner as much as you can. Don’t get too comfortable relying on written communication. It’s not the same as a real conversation, and it can be easy to miss important things.
6. Don’t use Facebook as a way to stalk your date.
Everybody has a friend who seems to be dating every single person they come across. It’s important to remember that you don’t know every person that your date is friends with. This is especially true if you’re dating someone who has a high number of friends.
It’s easy to go online and start looking through their friends list and start asking questions like “who is that?” and “who are they dating?”.
Don’t do this. It’s an invasion of your partner’s privacy. If you want to know more about their life, ask them. If you want to know more about their friends, wait for your partner to bring it up. It’s important to remember that you’re dating a real human being and not just a profile page.
7. Confide in your friends when things get weird.
Sometimes in a relationship, things get weird. Maybe someone starts acting strangely. Maybe your partner says something that you don’t understand. Whatever the situation may be, it’s good to have someone to talk to.
When you date someone, you’re entering a partnership. You should expect your partner to be open and honest with you about everything in their life. If something is making you uncomfortable, though, you shouldn’t feel pressured to bring it up. You have a support system of friends who want to help you out.
If something is bothering you, talk to them. Tell them what’s going on and let them know how they can help you. Don’t be afraid to talk to your friends when things get weird. They want to help you out. They want to make sure that you’re safe and happy.
8. Don’t post your location without reason
This is a bit of a weird one. It’s not really about the relationship itself, but it’s important to be aware of it. When you’re dating someone, you want to keep your location private. If you’re going to be meeting up with your partner, you definitely want to keep their location hidden from your friends.
You don’t want to post your location and have your friends see that you’re at the romantic cafe you’re supposed to be meeting your partner at.
This can be especially important for ladies if you’re meeting your partner for the first time. If you know that your friends will see your location, you might want to go somewhere private.
9. Don’t post your relationship status without thinking.
This might be the most important thing on this list. It’s crucial that you don’t just change your relationship status to “in a relationship” without thinking about it first. Before you change your status, ask yourself if you’re ready to be in a relationship. Make sure that your partner knows that they are your main priority.
10. Be honest and clear in your relationship status
First and foremost, before you start dating anyone, you need to get your relationship status clear. If you’re in a relationship, you should not have it set as single. It might seem silly, but you don’t want to accidentally mislead or offend anyone. You also don’t want to have any misunderstandings with your significant other.
To avoid any awkward situations, you should change your relationship status to reflect your situation. If you’re single and trying to date someone new, you should be very clear about that. You don’t want someone who is looking for a serious relationship to think that you are just casually dating.
At the same time, you don’t want to scare off someone who is looking for a casual relationship. It’s important to be honest and clear in your relationship status so that everyone is on the same page.
11. Don’t be afraid to hide your photos
If you want to keep some of your relationships separate, you can use the privacy settings to hide your photos. You can do this with your friends and family, as well as with your new love interest. Don’t be afraid to hide photos from your new partner, but do be careful about who you choose to do this with.
If you’re single and looking for love, you might be tempted to hide photos of your friends and family to make yourself seem less available. However, this can backfire if you’re hiding photos of your children or other loved ones. It can be off-putting if someone dates you, but can’t see your family on your page. It can make them feel like you’re hiding something.
12. Be very cautious with statuses and tagging
When you start dating someone new, you should be very careful with how you tag them in posts. If you’re single, you might be tempted to tag your new partner in posts to show people that you’re in a relationship. This can be a bad idea. If you’re dating someone casually, you don’t want to expose them to the scrutiny of all your friends.
You also don’t want to scare off someone who is interested in a more serious relationship. Avoid tagging your partner unless they’re someone who is very close to your friends. Even then, you should be cautious. You also have to be careful about how you respond to posts. If one of your friends posts an article about dating or relationship advice, you shouldn’t comment on it about your new partner.
13. Don’t share too much information
Nowadays, social media is often used as a platform for political and social discourse. If you’re dating someone with different political beliefs, you might be tempted to jump into those topics. However, you should be cautious about how much you share.
You don’t want to scare off someone who has different political or religious beliefs. You don’t want to offend someone who has differing opinions. Social media is a great place to discuss topics that are important to you, but you shouldn’t go overboard. Keep your posts and comments focused on general topics, and avoid anything too specific.
14. Use the privacy settings you have
Every social media platform has privacy settings. These settings allow you to protect your information and make yourself visible to only certain people. It’s absurd that you would have to do this, but a lot of people don’t take advantage of these settings.
It’s pretty normal for people to make their relationship status public. Most people don’t go any further than that, and make their entire profile available to everyone. You should make sure that only your friends can see your profile. Otherwise, there’s no real reason to be on social media.
15. Don’t indicate a specific date for your future plans
There are lots of legitimate reasons why you might want to keep your plans with your new date private. Maybe you’re out of town for work, or you’re meeting your friends for a weekend of fun. If you’re dating casually, you don’t want to be too secretive, but you also don’t want to upset your partner.
It’s better to just keep your plans to yourself. If you’re dating someone seriously, you should still keep your plans discreet. You don’t want to offend your partner, but you also don’t want to give them false hope or make them feel unwanted.
If you’re dating someone casually, you can just say that you’re busy with work or other obligations. If you’re dating someone seriously, you can explain that you want to keep your plans private.
16. Don’t tag your date in anything on Facebook
As you’re getting to know your new partner, you might be tempted to tag them in posts and pictures. Don’t do it. Not only can it be weird, but it also makes it easier for your partner to see everything you post.
If you’re dating casually, you don’t want to overwhelm your partner with your posts. If you’re dating someone seriously, you don’t want them to feel pressured by all your online interactions. If your partner is really important to you, you should avoid tagging them in posts as much as possible.
17. Don’t check-in at your dates unless it’s a group activity
There was once a trend of couples checking into places together. You’d go out to eat, and you’d see couples putting their location on Facebook. This trend has died down a bit, but it’s still a thing. It’s a silly thing to do, but it can be harmless enough. However, if you’re dating seriously, you don’t want to do this.
You should avoid checking in to places with your partner unless it’s a group activity. If you want to go out with your partner alone, you should check in to the place and let them know you’re there. Your partner might not feel hurt by this, but they might be embarrassed. If your partner is a private person, they might feel like you’re broadcasting your relationship to the world.
Conclusion
There are lots of reasons why people might want to date on Facebook. It’s a great way to meet new people, and you don’t have to leave the comfort of your own home. There are also lots of reasons why you shouldn’t date on Facebook. It can be time-consuming, and it can be overwhelming.
You can overcome these issues, though, and dating on Facebook can be rewarding if you know what you’re doing. If you follow these tips and do so with discretion and care, you can have a great dating experience on Facebook.
