[WillowTheWhisp]

That may sound like sensible advice from a 16 year old but there are a couple of things she maybe hasn't considered.

When you chat to someone online, even if they have a webcam and a mike and you can see and hear them you still haven't really got a natural situation. It's easy for people to put on an act on the net. Also if you are chatting to someone long distance then you are less likely to know anyone else who knows them which means they can pretend to be something they are not and there's no-one around to make you any the wiser.

A few years ago someone I "knew" on AOL from the quizzes (I still miss those quizzes) found a "boyfriend" in a chatroom. They only contacted each other by IM or chatted in the rooms. He didn't have a webcam, although she did, so she never saw him. Eventually she found out that he had lied to her about his age and was 20 years older than he'd claimed to be!

Last summer we watched a TV documentary about two young lads who had formed a friendship on the net and yet there were sinister undertones and one almost talked the other one into murder. I know that's extreme but it was frightening how the friendship developed in such a way that the gullible lad was sucked deeper and deeper in without realising that what he was ending up doing was totally out of character.

Then there's the point about arranging to meet someone you've chatted to online. I know it's a cliche but for all you know they could be a mad axe-man(woman) or a pervert. It's better to meet on neutral ground in a busy place.

Having said that I know that people do "meet" online and do form lasting relationships so it isn't all doom and gloom and maybe it's easier to chat by typing than to talk to someone face to face in a first meeting.