Stranger

ˈstreɪn(d)ʒə/

noun

1. a person whom one does not know or with whom one is not familiar.
2. "don't talk to strangers"
• a person who does not know, or is not known in, a particular place or community.
• "I'm a stranger in these parts"

sys:	unknown person;

a person entirely unaccustomed to (a feeling, experience, or situation).

"he is no stranger to controversy"

synonyms

unaccustomed to, unfamiliar with, unused to, unacquainted with, new to, fresh to,inexperienced in, unpractised in, unversed in, unconversant with; archaic strange to "Harker was a stranger to self-doubt"

When we are little we are told not to talk to strangers. We are told to keep our information private. But now when most of us are on the Internet how private are we? How often do we talk to strangers? Are there some positives to this? What are the negatives? What sites do we use to communicate? Have you ever talked to someone you haven’t met online? Most of you will have. In fact, according to our survey results 76.2% of the 101 people we interviewed said that they have talked to strangers online before. When the majority of us have social media it’s hard not to be connected to people you don’t know. What we’re here for is to find out about is the basics of Talking to Strangers. After all, our friends were strangers to start with weren’t they?

What are some positives of talking online to strangers?

We’ve gathered some examples of what positives there are in talking to strangers online:

1. You can talk anytime, anywhere.

As long as you have data or wifi you can talk anywhere at any time. This makes it really convenient for you.

2. Confidence boost.

What more could you want? A complete stranger wants to talk to YOU. They don’t even know you and yet they want to spend their time talking to you.

3. People with similar interests.

Woohoo! Now you can meet people all over the world who like stamp collecting too!

4. Quick escape.

You can leave that increasingly creepy conversation with a simple click. You don’t need your cat to fake an illness to get out of this one.

5. Meeting new people
6. Because they are.

A stranger is a stranger before you get to know them.

Like we said before, all friends are strangers to start with.

Although there are a lot of positives in talking to strangers 22.8% of people we interviewed have said that they have had a negative experience so it’s still good to be cautious when talking online.

What are some positive experiences?

When 77.2% of our interviewees said that they hadn’t had a negative experience I think it’s safe to say that there are a lot of good experiences to be had when talking to strangers. We’ve collected some positive examples that have been edited for clarity and length.

“I was dared to talk to a boy I didn't know and we became good friends because no one expected us to get along so well. We’re still friends today”

“Started talking to some guy who messaged me and now he’s my closest guy friend.”

“Started talking to this guy I didn’t know and now we send memes to each other.”

These are just a few positive examples of talking to strangers online.  There are many more out there which you can read below.* Talking online to strangers gives us this opportunity to get to know someone new without pressure. Online you can be anybody. Whilst this is a good thing there are of course some negatives to consider when you don’t know them.

What are differences and similarities in talking to strangers online versus face to face?

When talking to someone online you can’t know for sure who they really are and what they look like. You could get really deep and say you can’t know for sure a person’s motive face to face either but most of the time you can read their expressions and get an understanding of them. Online you don’t see their face or hear their voice so you can’t know that they are meaning what they say. Online you can talk to them with a simple click if they’re active. It’s harder to consider someone you’ve never met but online a friend.  36.6% of the interviewees said that they would sometimes consider the people they talk to online their friend and 27.7% of them said they would never consider the people they meet online their friends.

Talking online can mean you’re more open because as far as they’re concerned your name is Jane Smith when it’s not. You might talk to them about all your problems and they’ll give you solutions but they don’t know you like your real life friends do. When talking to Strangers face to face you might not be as open because you know they're real and they’re there. There’s also that possibility that you might meet them again or they know someone you know. With online strangers there’s only so much you can do. Talk, play online games and stuff. With face to face strangers you can do physical activities like go watch a movie, go shopping or maybe go out for lunch.

Unfortunately life can't always be a fairy tale and talking to strangers online has its fair share of evil witches and toads that you have to kiss until you meet your prince.

So what are some of the negatives of talking to strangers? Once again we have gathered some examples from our survey.

1. Technology has advanced hugely over the years to the point that you can now have a high quality camera on your very own cellphone. Don't get us wrong taking those model worthy photos of your cat makes this year an exciting time to be alive! But what if a stranger doesn't take a photo of their cat, but of something on their body instead. Unfortunately websites and apps are making it easier and easier to share inappropriate photos with strangers. All it takes is a simple "hey" and a few minutes of chat and then bam scarred for life, or not depending on your own perspective. Either way sending photos of your own body parts is dangerous and illegal if you are under age. People said that they had also had their photos screen-shot and now they have no clue where their image could have ended up. Final message: be warned and keep it PG no matter your age.

2. Do you actually know who you are talking to? Are they actually that cute boy or girl that their profile picture would make you believe or are they some 45 year old trying to take advantage. It's hard to know who's genuine and who's not online and sadly a select few ruin it for everyone else that just wants to make a new friend or find a new lover.

3. Because you are not talking face to face, sometimes it can be hard to understand their expression. Fights that wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for the miscommunication can end something before it has even started.

4. Constantly waiting for someone to reply hours on end just to be "seen". Let's face it, it happens to almost everyone at some point in their life and when it's by a complete stranger,it is even more awkward. Get off your phones and talk to actual people that you walk past on the street or are waiting in line next to, compliment them or just wave and say hi. If they don't reply back then laugh and move on without having to wait for hours just to see the outcome. If they do say something back then get to know them, who knows they could be the love of your life!

If people do decide to venture into the unknown called the internet where do they go to talk to strangers?

1. Facebook: friend them and off you go, fingers crossed they actually accept your request to be friends though.

2. Snapchat: 10 seconds and then your photo has disappeared right? Wrong. You don't know the person and they don't really know you either so there isn't much trust. Don't send anything that you wouldn't show a stranger sitting in the bus next to you. Also making it clear what the boundaries are is a good way to keep as safe as possible.

3. Omegle: Good way to find a new love interest but it's also a good way to find and see images that you don't need or want to see. Most people that we surveyed that had a bad experience talking to strangers online said that Omegle was almost always involved. So maybe staying away from it would be a good and safe idea.

As for most things in today's day and age society has made a lot of unwritten rules around talking to strangers online. Here are just a few of them:

1.If they ask for money or for you to pay for flights to meet you, stop talking and do NOT give them the money under any circumstance.

2.If they keep bringing up anything inappropriate or sexual that you are not interested in block them and hope that the next person you talk to will be better than the last.

3.If you are going to meet up with your online ‘friend’ ALWAYS meet them in a safe and public place and if you're still not quite sure bring a trusted friend.

4.Do not give out personal details, like your address and school etc.

While there are a lot of differences between talking online and face to face there are still some similarities. There are positives and negatives to talking online but at the end of the day it’s up to you if you want to consider them friends.

So we’ve shared our findings with you so now it’s up you to weigh up the risks and rewards when talking to that cute stranger who could be anyone. In today’s day and age it’s pretty normal to be talking to someone you don’t know online. If you think it’s worth it then go for it. Make sure you don’t agree to meet them alone. Don’t send those personal details. Just the stuff we’ve been taught our whole lives. Those lessons are there for a reason.

Just remember to stay safe kids.

*http://gizmodo.com/8-online-dating-stories-with-happy-endings-1651421809