I was reading this amazing Chicago Magazine article on The Secret Life Of Teens where they interviewed 296 Millennial students between the ages of 13 and 19 from Chicago and its suburbs. The research is both interesting and remarkable, but one thing really stood out to me.
The question that made me do a double take was: Have you ever met someone online? Forty-two percent of those surveyed said yes. And of those, 47 percent have considered having a face-to-face meeting with someone they met online.
I’m surprised by the numbers mostly because I think 42 percent is a small number. I think it’s a small number because in my world I find that it is getting less and less taboo to meet face-to-face with people who you’ve met online. I’m not saying that it still can’t be dangerous (perhaps even more so for younger Millennials), but I think if you asked most Twitter users if they ever met someone online the percentage would be closer to the nineties. In fact, I’ve met some of the most amazing people I know online, and I’ve met many of them in person too.
So maybe this number is frightening to parents, who don’t want their kids meeting strangers online. But to me this number is awesome, because it means people are taking the great online conversations they are having and moving them offline and into the real world.
Am I crazy, or would you meet someone from online face-to-face too?
{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
Have and would. When are we meeting Blake?
I have before and would do it again. I made a really great friend and contact through Facebook (granted there was some level of trust already established because we had a mutual friend). As long as you feel comfortable with the person (online) and trust your judgment, why not meet them face-to-face?
Well, it’s how I met my wife. Six very happy years ago. Meeting someone in a bar is just as dangerous, just as risky, and a lot stupider.
I agree with Angelique. It’s a judgment call, and Facebook makes the decision making process easier when you see there’s a mutual connection, or a few.
Generally though I’ve had some real world connection to the people I’ve “met” online. It’s rarely a cold call request coming from my end.
I think it’s super weird if you have never had an
y interaction with someone in person to meet them solely off of their online image. Facebook is highly editable.
On the flip side- a good google search or the date evaluation application you blogged about could help you rule out that an online friend was actually a serial killer and safe to meet in the real world.