Comments on: Is it Unethical to Conduct a Background Check on the New Guy Or Girl in Your Life?

By: Taggart

Taggart — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 14:43:23 +0000

SageMother makes an interesting point. I’d add that her logic probably also applies to people who aren’t planning on marriage, although legally there may be different issues.

By: SageMother

SageMother — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 19:33:34 +0000

This is a quandry for many. I guess whether one finds a background check moral depends on how they view marriage, assuming that is the goal of dating.

Some people don’t base marriage on the romantic aspects of the relationship, but shift their thoughts to the “business end” of marriage. In some cases, this might be the smarter approach.

If you’d do a background check on a potential business partner….

By: Taggart

Taggart — Sun, 31 May 2009 21:17:31 +0000

I agree that it is a touchy subject. If the person discovered that a check was done and had given no reason to be doubted, I can see that causing some very bad feelings.

On the other hand, that sort of thing would have really helped other people out of difficult situations.

By: poster25

poster25 — Sun, 31 May 2009 16:00:44 +0000

This is kinda of tricky. People are advised to make their partners get aids testing before starting relationships. A background check is just another form of testing. This is another way of getting information that you normally would not have had access to.

I guess the difference is that the other person knows that the testing is being done.

One could argue that not knowning the outcome of aids testing could be very harmful. But not knowing the outcome of a background check could also be life threatening.

If you feel that strongly about it, let the other person know that you are doing it. Any type of premarital precautions such as prenups, testing or background checks may offend the other party. However, you have to decide if it is worth it.

By: chris1203

chris1203 — Sun, 31 May 2009 14:59:15 +0000

I can see the reasons that people would do that, but I would feel “dirty” conducting such a background check on someone that I was dating. I don’t think that I could do this and feel good about myself.