New territory brings new opportunities and new dangers. Internet dating has been popular and successful for quite a while, with more people buying memberships to online sites each year.

It also gives weight to gender stereotypes many people might find uncomfortable, such as relying on tropes of male agression and female passivity (receptivity) in social sexual situations.

A Los Angeles woman recently filed a lawsuit against a popular Internet dating site.

Carole Markin, a member, says she was sexually assaulted by Alan Wurtzel, a man she had met on the site.

Last year, more than 80 million people used at least one Internet dating service. Now, with the onslaught of online dating, one can expect to text a few toads. Virtually any conversation about online dating eventually turns to the subject of safety.

With the excitement of broadening our horizons comes the flip side of the coin — fear of the unknown. So we tend to hear the frightening stories the most.