Too often we easily share our personal information online – the sports in which we participate, the football clubs we support, our hobbies, our trips, our dreams and even information about our children. We might not explicitly write what any of these are, but by posting photos, we are revealing so much about our lives. Even if our social media accounts, like Instagram, are set to private, any number of our friends or followers could screenshot a photo and share with whomever they please. If you have 500 followers, all 500 of them could potentially screenshot and share your photos. But the truth is, it only takes one follower to do this and then it’s out of even their control. Who is to say with whom they will share and with whom the next person will share, and so on?!

Can you imagine if you printed out each of your photos you have ever posted on Instagram, as a post or a story, 500 times and handed each photo to 500 people Down Town, or anywhere for that matter! These 500 people would think you were very strange for doing this and, frankly, the whole exercise would seem rather creepy. It would also be highly unlikely for any of these 500 people to make copies of your photos and hand them out to others. So, why are we comfortable sharing the same photos with the 500 followers online? Please take note: Online life is real life on steroids.

Let’s now look at location sharing.

Apps and websites often ask us, in the form of a pop-up box, if we would like to share our location. It happens so fast that it is very easy to “allow”, especially as we may be focusing our attention on what we want or need from the app or website itself, thus not reading the pop-up box properly and clicking on it just to eliminate it from our screen. You know it happens! In fact, some people think that sharing location is harmless and may have benefits.

Teenagers are especially prone to easily sharing their location. Take Snapchat, for example, which has Snap Map. “Snap Map lets you discover fun places, see what your friends are up to, and view Snaps from the community.” https://help.snapchat.com/hc/en-us/sections/5689786363284-Snap-Map If you choose to share your location, this information is also revealed about you to all your “friends” on Snapchat. Once again, your “friends” can screenshot your location and share with whomever they choose. Moreover, you may not actually know all your “friends”. It is quite common for teenagers to allow “friends” of “friends” to follow them. It is also quite common for none of them to know who indeed some of these “friends” of “friends” are, no matter how far back they might try to trace them. In reality, these “friends” of “friends” are in fact strangers, potentially predators.

Your teenager is out with his or her friends at the movies, followed by dinner in the food court, let’s say. Everyone, except your teen, wants to go to the ATM and your child agrees to watch their backpacks while they go for cash. Minutes later, someone comes up to your child and introduces himself as “Michael”, explaining that he is a friend of some of the close friends in the group. He says he was supposed to meet them for dinner after the movies, he names the friends, he indicates where they all go to school and live, what mode of transport they take, where each friends went yesterday, last weekend, and so much detailed information about their movements over the last few months, or even year, that your child has enough proof that Michael is legitimately a close friend of some of the friend group. Michael gets a phone call, then tells your teen that one of the friends, Peter, at the ATM, is asking them to bring their bags up to the carpark. Off your teenager goes to the carpark, with Michael and all the bags, to meet Peter and the others. They get to the carpark, “Michael” has a gang waiting for your child, from whom they and Michael steal all the bags, along with your child’s phone and wallet. Predators will go to great lengths to learn yours and your friends’ patterns online. Snap Map facilitates this predatory behaviour.

The truth is, it is not a necessity to share your location online. Now, you may need it when using Google Maps or Waze, but ensure that in your phone settings you select “only while using”, then properly scroll out of said app as soon as you have finished using it. You may even have an app like Life360 with your immediate family, but make sure you are only sharing your location with said immediate family. Otherwise, why do you need to share your location? You do not. Stay Sharp. #BeCyberBright

emma@becyberbright.com