What We Learned About Online Dating From Dark Knight Shooter James Holmes
In the days following the heartbreaking tragedy in Aurora, Colorado, people began scouring the internet for any evidence they could find about the alleged shooter, James Holmes. Despite not having a Facebook account, two dating profiles arose: one for Match.com, and one for AdultFriendFinder.
Understandably, online daters may have found this disturbing. The idea that you could be matched with a human being as deranged as someone who shot over 70 innocent people is a scary thought. However, the screenshots of the profile that were shared with the world are a good look into the type of person you SHOULD DEFINITELY NEVER CONTACT ON A DATING SITE.
Right there. At the top. The first thing you read on someone’s dating profile.
If a person’s dating profile headline says WILL YOU VISIT ME IN PRISON, your first move should be hitting the back button, and your second move should be NEVER EVER CONTACTING THEM EVER.
In the same way that you probably wouldn’t pursue a relationship with a person you met at a bar who introduced himself with “will you visit me in prison?”, the same goes for a person who would put that in their dating profile. Despite what some “journalists” are assuming, the fact that James Holmes had an online dating profile isn’t an argument against online dating, it’s an argument for smart dating, all the time, whether online or not. Using discretion and good reasoning is a part of being an adult in the dating world, because NEWS FLASH: there are crazies everywhere.
It’s a little thing called common sense, and sometimes I think it’s something in which we ALL need a refresher course.