Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
A WARNING HAS been issued that people posting gift pictures and holiday snaps to social media this Christmas could be putting themselves in danger.
While many will be ramping up their home security this festive season, posts to Facebook and Twitter could still create unnecessary risk.
In a survey conducted by AA Home Insurance, their customers have been asked about their attitude to protecting their homes during the winter months and their social media activity.
At this time of year incidents of burglary can shoot up by as much as 25% – depending on where you live.
How vigilant are we?
It was found that 78% of women and 67% of men aged 17- to 24-years-old were likely to take extra precautions around home security this Christmas.
Click here for a larger version of this image.
It was this age category whose social media use was found to most compromise their home safety - with 31% of men and 37% of women saying they were likely or very likely to post holiday information to Facebook.
In the same age category 31% of females and 18% of males said they were either likely or very likely to post comments or images relating to gifts on social media.
Across all age ranges, 75% of women and 69% of men were likely to take extra home security precautions this Christmas.
What should people do?
A number of guidelines have been issued to help members of the public ensure that their social media use doesn’t prove a liability over the festive season.
Included in these are:
The breakdown recovery and insurance company asked more than 5,000 of its customers as part of its research.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
I actually can’t understand how much personal information some people put up on fb. I deleted my page a few months back as I just found I had enough stresses in my own life without hearing all about every little DRAMA in my so-called friends life’s.
Same as. I sincerely believe it contributes to negative mental health.
Lol every time a Facebook article comes on here you’re guaranteed to see comments like above
They’re true though Alan. Facebook can be extremely bad for your metal health. At this stage, the negatives far out weigh the positives for being on Facebook.
I can’t believe some of the information people put on their profiles. That whole “checking in” charade was utter stupidity.
Couldn’t agree with Brendan and Sam more. There’s no need for people to be constantly comparing their lives to the filtered posts of hundreds of their (and I use this term extremely loosely) friends. It can seriously mess with your feelings of self-worth after a while. I think it can be especially damaging to the mental health of teenagers since they often barely have a grip on who they are to begin with at that age and how they’re perceived often seems so important to them.
It’s absolutely true. I don’t know about men but I know so many girls/women whose lives literally revolve around Facebook, they cannot enjoy a day out or a meal or night out its all about taking photos for Facebook, spending on getting their make up professionally done so they look good in photos, can’t wear the same outfit twice if they’ve already been pictured in it on Facebook and as for the fights rows and drama over feckin Facebook, the lengths some girls will go to to stage a ‘casual’ photo for Facebook, and as for the worst breed of all – the Mammies, I know one woman who deletes friends who don’t ‘like’ photos of her children another well educated professional lady who I thought was normal enough until I found that she literally posts the most ordinary mundane things her baby does, all day everyday it has got to be some type of mental disorder, I’ll bet the same Mammies are the ‘wait a minute’ Mammies who give their phone (ie Facebook) far more time & attention than their child!
I hear no drama from my friends, maybe you should seek more friends alike yourself so you don’t have to quit social media, the fault is not in Facebook, but in your friends and your choices in friendships, some people tend to have a lot of “friends”, when it says “add friend” it doesn’t say “add acquaintance” or “add person you’ve meet once 6 months ago”.
Once you have real friends and family in your FB you can easily filter out updates so you only read what you want to read.
For acquaintances, business and work colleagues is LinkedIn.
Maybe post a picture of yourself waiting for them with a shotgun and a pitchfork. That might put them off.
That shotgun and pitchfork would likely be the most valuable items in the house though :P
Or photo of their adorable guard dog.
Some people use it as their own reality show. Bragging checking into places and posting pictures of all their husbands of the year buy them. They’re a joke.
I can’t for the life of me understand why would you put up on fakebook saying i’m going away for two weeks, ah sure call over and rob the house the keys are in the front door
Bragging??
Burgled 3 times at Xmas by thugs out of jail just for Xmas. On 1 occasion the guy hired a van and burgled more than 20 homes, the Gardai convinced me not to press charges for my own safety. I bet they will let more out this Xmas — Why????? To attack vulnerable people and make more money for the legal guys.
The likes of that should be shot on sight. No mercy.
If he comes back this Xmas, baseball bat and take his life when he enters your property.
This would imply one or more of your facebook freinds are burglars or atleast tipping them off lol
With Ireland being such a small country, you are really only two degrees of separation away from a burglar at most. If you check your settings, much of what you post is visible to ‘friends of friends’.
Or you could have your posts set to public (which is the default setting on FB) and anyone would be able to see/find it.
Have we not yet reached the tipping point where the benefits of social media are outweighed by the potential dangers?
How else are those friends going to brag about little johnny etc etc etc
Even making r confirming arrangements for a night out on f/bk etc. is a no no.
Yet 1 more reason to avoid Facebook…well,that and vigilantes on the look out for 6 year old foreign born advocates of equine cruelty….
With posting comes great responsibility..
..and here all ye ex-FB ers are. ….spending that time posting here instead. …
Robbed five times, nothing replaced now. Why bother? Gard said they take it again. They do.
Library very good about a book but it upset me.
Tv over 20 years old, works so fine then. My big item. (They did not want it!)
Old folk best to have old things as they don’t want them!
Cheap at second hand shops too!
have your say