> Online dating is already safer than (for example) meeting some random person at a bar or party, assuming you first meet the person in public which is an obvious thing to do.
This is not necessarily true. I've been harassed by people who I've talked to online who have never even progressed to the meeting stage (we talk a little bit, I determine I'm not interested, a meeting never happens). They'll create fake accounts, message from their friends' accounts, etc. because some people don't know how to take no for an answer. People are a lot more willing to harass behind anonymity than to stalk people in person, because the bar and the resulting consequences are so much lower. Plus it's a lot easier to screen people in person than it is to assess potentially fake profiles.
That being said, I don't think that Facebook dating is the answer to this.
This is not necessarily true. I've been harassed by people who I've talked to online who have never even progressed to the meeting stage (we talk a little bit, I determine I'm not interested, a meeting never happens). They'll create fake accounts, message from their friends' accounts, etc. because some people don't know how to take no for an answer. People are a lot more willing to harass behind anonymity than to stalk people in person, because the bar and the resulting consequences are so much lower. Plus it's a lot easier to screen people in person than it is to assess potentially fake profiles.
That being said, I don't think that Facebook dating is the answer to this.