BOISE — For a lot of college students, meeting someone new starts with a screen. But Boise Police say recent sexual assault and stalking investigations connected to online interactions serve as a reminder that online dating can come with real-world risks.
Police are reminding neighbors to take extra precautions when using dating apps — including meeting in public, arranging your own transportation and avoiding sharing personal information too quickly.
For many Boise State students, dating apps have become a normal part of social life. BSU student Tiana Mason said she has personal experience with the apps and the culture that can come with them.
"I personally did online dating like a little bit before I came here. I stopped because I was on one specific app and it's just big on hookup culture," Mason said.
"You have to be comfortable with other people to let them know what's going on if there is a problem within a dating app," Mason said.
BSU student V Orozco said she does not dismiss online dating entirely — but said caution is non-negotiable.
"I don't hate online dating. Like it's definitely useful for some people, but I would definitely say that you have to be careful when you get on it," Orozco said. "And set boundaries for sure," she added.
BSU freshmen Avery Owen and Cate Wile said they think about online dating as a mixed reality — with both genuine success stories and real dangers.
Owen said the appeal of meeting someone in person is that you actually get to know who they are.
"There's always the opportunity to like meet authentically in person and you get to actually meet who they are rather than like dating apps where you don't actually know who this person is until you meet up and that can be like dangerous," Owen said.
Wile said she has heard both sides of the story.
"I think that it's honestly fifty-fifty because I have heard like, cool, like, you know, love stories like, oh, we met, then we got married, like everything worked out, but I feel like also a lot of people like use that for the app for just like, you know, hookups and, you know, naughty things," Wile said.
When it comes to safety, both said verifying that someone is who they say they are is one of the first steps.
"Start texting, like, make sure their account and photos are like, very, like real, you know, valid," Wile said.
Owen said she and her friends share their locations with each other as a standard safety measure — especially before meeting someone new.
"If we're gonna go meet someone that we don't know or go somewhere where the other person isn't. It's good to have our location if like something bad happens and then one of us can come help," Owen said.
Wile added that location sharing should be reserved for people you genuinely trust.
"People share location like with anyone nowadays, like on Snapchat, but I feel like you should only share your location with like people you really trust," Wile said.
Both said meeting in public and keeping your phone with you are non-negotiables — and that staying somewhere with cell service is just as important.
"Meet in public, tell a friend, keep your phone with you. Don't go somewhere where you're gonna be out in the wild, like you don't have service. No one's around you," Owen said.
"Just know the person, be safe, and like, know your values," Wile said.
Boise Police say those small steps — sharing location, sending screenshots to friends and making sure someone knows where you are going — can help people get out of dangerous situations faster.
A full list of dating app safety tips and local resources is available by clicking here.
