In an era of social networking, when people are posting the happenings taking place in their lives and are tweeting and posting every move on Twitter, Facebook and other sites, we know more about one another and strangers than we ever have before.
Tripit is a great site for recording travel plans and there’s an application for linking it to your LinkedIn, profile so if friends or business colleagues are traveling to the same place at the same time, you can meet up.
Some people have many followers. And we’re no longer referring to only young people, since the demographics of social networking have rapidly changed in the recent past.
Now, baby boomers have taken to networking big time. With the advent of cell phones with innumerable social media applications, we can twitter about trips in progress and shoot photos of our family standing in front of the Eiffel Tower in real time.
Are we setting ourselves up to be robbed or have our identities stolen by broadcasting our every movement?
What happened to the days when parents advised their children not to tell their classmates the family was taking its annual vacation or going to Grandmother’s house for Christmas dinner?
It wasn’t so many years ago when people were nervous that a person’s house might be robbed if an obituary were printed in the local newspaper or if there were a for sale sign posted in front of a house that was still furnished.
Many people have alarmed their houses and apartments with complex and intricate alarm system. But sophisticated robbers — with enough time and advanced warning — may be able to crack the codes and clear out your life and possessions as you’re posting your every movement for the cyberworld to read.
Paul Stephens, director of policy and advocacy with the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse says, “People just don’t realize the kind of information they give out in social networking sites can be used on its own or with other information to commit identity theft and other fraudulent activity.”
We know robberies have radically increased during the recent recession and neighborhood papers are filled with notices of who and what’s been taken via break-ins and muggings.
I have a kitty/apartment sitter coming to stay in my digs during my upcoming trip. And I spent the money to install an alarm system for extra precaution.
What steps are you taking to protect your home and safety not to mention your peace of mind?
It’s a whole new world. For better or for worse.
Karen Fawcett is president of BonjourParis.
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Stop the paper and the mail until you return. Notify some key trusted neighbors of your arrival and departure dates as well inform them if anyone is to be visiting such as a petsitter or someone picking up your mail. Install a light that turns on certain times of the day. Adjust shades of windows (slatted) so there isn’t a clear view into the house.
Get to know your neighbors ahead of time. People who know each other will look out for each other.
Great article. Such a thin line between sharing and sharing too much.
I don’t think some realize that too much info is not a good thing.
Remember the lesson from Home Alone: leave a child behind to protect your possessions.
What is most annoying is getting interrupted on Skype by an intruder /caller from Nigeria or Algeria who wants to chat. Zap and block!
But still there is the sense of invasion. Karen made good points about unwitting self exposure.
All of this stuff (Facebook, Twitter, etc.) is just indicative to me of what I call the Trophy Generation. These are the kids that got trophies for everything; not winning, just participating. Nobody loses; everyone’s a winner. The praise heaped on these kids, in turn, leads them to believe people actually give a darn that I had a Starbuck’s coffee this morning or that my favorite band is Aerosmith.
MarkieA: Couldn’t agree more; it’s a cult of self-importance. I can’t believe the stupidity of Twiitter twits who post such personal information on social networks or people who blab it in public places during their cell phone conversations. Most people aren’t nearly as important — or interesting — as they think they are.
Give the kids a break. They are just enjoying themselves. You were young once and I bet you wanted to follow at least some of the latest trends as well!
Until very recently, my Twitter/blog has been anonymous. Even still, I don’t say exactly when we’ll be vacationing. To ensure that no one knows when we’re gone, I set up blog posts in advance and make sure to Tweet something that doesn’t indicate that we’re gone.