The number of ways social media has impacted our lives are yet to truly be counted and reckoned for, but they are surely profound and life-changing in many ways. We have never been more connected as a species and able to share every aspect of our lives with people the world over. But are all of the effects of social media fun, benevolent ones? In this article, we will take a look at social media’s impact on home security and how to mitigate those negative effects.
Social Media’s Impact on home security
A lot of the issues with posting on social media involve telling people details of where you are, what you’re doing, and when. Often this means sharing the fact you’re not at home or even in the same country. Unless you are very careful with who can see your posts and trust those that can implicitly, you could be flagging up to every criminal in your home town it’s safe to break in and ransack the place. There have been incidents of famous sporting stars having their homes broken into while performing in front of fans because criminals know they’re not at home.
Risky social media habits to avoid
- Tagging your location
- Advertising travel plans
- Being unguarded in public conversations and comments
- Mentioning children’s schools
- Describing daily routines in detail
Checking in to places or describing how excited you are to be leaving the country for a week on Tuesday is manna from heaven for anybody wondering where they can find a nice empty property to snoop around. Resist temptation and keep your plans and location to yourself. Don’t be paranoid. Just ask yourself if the information you’re about to make public is:
- Necessary
- Interesting/relevant to anybody else
- Potentially risky in any way
You could be giving those with even worse intentions the ability to get close to you under false pretences. Using information gleaned from your pages to strike up a conversation and get you to drop your guard by mentioning familiar names. If in doubt, leave it out.
Sharing photographs and videos
- Holiday snaps
We’ve all seen countless photographs of sun-baked legs by some tranquil swimming pool or secluded beach. The temptation to share the experience and let people know we’re having a wonderful time is strong, but you must resist. Try to put yourself in the shoes of someone with dark intentions for a moment. How could they use that information against you?
- New purchases
The same general principle applies to advertising any impressive new purchases you’ve made. As much as you want to show everybody you are able to afford the finer things in life, you are making yourself a red-hot target to anyone who would love nothing better than to relieve you of those things.
Contact us
If you would like to discuss social media’s impact on home security or the benefits of security systems in Perth and whether your existing one is suitable for purpose, please get in touch with us today. The team here at Casa Security can also put you on the path to complete security and peace of mind for you and your loved ones with a high-tech new system.