Top 10 Reasons to Be Careful of Who You Talk to Online

Talking to people can be a fun experience if it's done right. You basically get to meet new people online, and there's absolutely nothing bad about that. However, it's extremely imperative to be careful whom you talk with online as not everyone on the internet is who they say they are. Read on to know why it's essential to be careful whom you talk to online.
The Top Ten
1 The internet is full of dangerous people.

This may be true, but the Internet is also full of good people. In fact, if I had to guess, the ratio is something like 90% good/ 10% bad. I don't pay attention to stats, so this is actually a pure guess.

They could either be psychopaths, perverts, major douchebags, they're everywhere online.

Great list. It's exactly why I turned off messaging.

2 Hackers could hack into your account.
3 People could lie about themselves.

Although I've been pretty straightforward as far as honesty goes, I could have said I'm a 40-year-old woman who lives in Saudi Arabia and is a Muslim and you'd have to assume I'm telling you the truth. (It's kind of ironic that I'm so honest online, because in real life, I easily lie through my teeth. Often, too.)

For example, let's say there was this 40-year-old man pretending to be a 14-year-old girl online and wanted to talk to other online teens just to lure them in. Not a pleasant thought.

4 People could threaten you with messages.

They could try to message you and say they're going to kill you (what would make it even worse is if they sent you a picture of your house, meaning they know exactly where you live).

5 Some people might stab you in the back.

If you're trying to make new friends online, forget that because they could actually be backstabbers who would betray you. I should know because I already had that sort of thing happen to me.

So far, this is more so a problem in real life than online, but I get where this is coming from.

I've met people like these, not just online, but outside the internet too.

6 You're basically talking to online strangers.

I agree, but that "don't talk to strangers" advice is horrible. Most harms happen by someone you already know, not by a stranger. Also, talking to strangers online isn't any more dangerous than talking to them in person. You certainly do have to be wary of the strangers you do talk to, and even people you already know, online or not.

Strangers are just friends you haven't met yet. There's NOTHING wrong with talking to a stranger. As long as you're careful about it, there shouldn't be any problems

Shouldn't you have already been taught not to talk to strangers as a kid? I should definitely know by now because it is dangerous.

7 People could verbally attack you.

Okay, I'm sure this is just me but verbal abuse doesn't really bother me in the sense that I'm gonna close my tablet and start crying. I can respect Metal_Treasure and the guy below him, and yet disagree. (To me, it'd be a minor annoyance if someone were to verbally attack me, but maybe I'd be singing a different tune if I actually spoke from experience, I guess?

Cyberbullying is real. Words do hurt (what makes you think that people say it's better to use a cuss word than to hurt a person anyway? ). I would argue though (just like Cyri) that if it's just one person, then it shouldn't be a big deal. But if it's more than one person then it is a problem.

Yes, cyberbullying is real. It's verbal bullying - whether words are said in person, over the phone or online, on the screen, it's verbal bullying. There are many scientific books about cyberbullying. The rustlers claim there's no cyberbullying ("it's just words on the screen") because they want to avoid responsibility for bullying people. Are their motives so hard to understand?

8 People could harass you.

So always make sure you're careful.

9 Trolls could troll you nonstop.

YouTubers like Flamingo and Brightclips do this, but in a funny way.

10 No one online is worth trusting.

I beg to differ. I'm worth trusting. And if you're reading this, you PROBABLY are, too. (And so are most people who don't read this.) But I get where this is coming from. There's always that one weirdo who is nothing they say they are.

Wrong. There are some trustworthy people and some untrustworthy people but not everyone is untrustworthy

The Contenders
11 People could give you false information.

Not necessarily about themselves but more about other particular topics. That's why you should always research online things yourself and not rely on strangers.

Like my hypothetical lie of information under "People could lie about themselves."

12 People could go after your family or loved ones.

Only if you give them such information. An easy fix to prevent this is to not give them your personal information.

13 People could accuse you of being a pedophile.
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