Two Becomes One

The E Leech

Posted on October 15, 2009 by Two Becomes One

Signs You’ve Got an E Leech

The earliest sign is someone who cannot wait for you to reply before they send you another message- this isn’t the “Oh I forgot to say”, at all. No, this is the one where you are on the singles site and they can see you are online- and you don’t reply straight away and then you get hit with another message and these range from funny, self deprecating numbers to guilt trippy missives. If you belong to a dating site where your online status is visible, do yourself a huge favor and change that setting if you can, first off. Secondly- if you do get this sort of thing, it’s usually the very first sign of an E Leech. But if you’re anything like most people, you’ll feel a little bad, maybe you’ll chuckle at the joke. Then, you’re stuck.

The next sign of an E Leech comes via IM. You wake up, you log on and there’s a message. You sign in as invisible, there’s a message. Seems nice at first, someone’s always there to chat, but be warned- this is a common E Leech thing. Now, if this is someone you are into, that’s a little different, but you know the difference.
Worst case? Suddenly, your E Leech has you added to everything. Facebook? They gotcha. Blog? They are an avid reader and follower- and don’t even think about a vague, “If the shoe fits” blog. They will either applaud you, completely missing the point or you’ll get more guilt laden missives. Just don’t do it, you’re better off. The long and short is, before you know it- an E Leech will have you added to everything.

What Can You Do?

Ben Franklin said it best- an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. If someone’s getting a little on the creepy side, stop it right there. Don’t try to be nice and sweet- you hardly know this person. Make sure that new people have no access to other parts of your online activity- or better yet, use a service like gmail chat- on the browser for their IMs until you are a little more sure. You can be polite, yes, but be warned- E Leeches are notorious about the guilt and the backpeddle- meaning, you’ll either hear about how sorry they are or you’ll get someone saying “Oh, you got me all wrong!”. You probably don’t. Stand your ground. If you do find yourself stuck with an E Leech that just won’t quit, it is highly recommended that you simply block every point of access they may have to you. Don’t let your E Leech turn into an E Stalker- and they are out there.
Above all things, trust us, an E Leech is just better avoided. If you find yourself sort of feeling pushed or pressured by a new online buddy- run.

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