Common Personal Safety Myths debunked

Ease of giving opinions and lots of information peddled on the internet, it’s easy to get your information from a source that may be popular, but may not be trusted or accurate.

Here are some of the common myths around personal safety and the facts around them.

Myth #1: You're Safer in a Moving Vehicle During an Earthquake.

In the Caribbean while earthquakes do happen, they’re still not a common occurrence. However, as the earth gets warmer and climate change becomes a more debated subject earthquakes are becoming more prevalent.

The idea of you being safe from an earthquake in a moving vehicle is erroneous for several reasons. [list them].

Debunking Fact: In reality, staying inside a vehicle during an earthquake is not safe. You are strongly encouraged to pull over, stop in an open area away from buildings, and remain inside the vehicle until the shaking stops.

Myth #2: You Only Need to Lock Your Doors at Night.

Whether one needs to lock their doors can be a personal thing. One thing we need to agree on is that it’s typically done as a protective measure for unwanted visitors or interruption and to fend off intruders.

However in neighbourhoods where the crime rate is high, locking your doors during the day can be a stronger deterrent to would be criminals.

Another aspect we need to look at is the emotional appeal of feeling safe when one does it.

One may have head prior experiences of a forceful invasion of privacy whether that’s with incidents such as rape, home invasion by law enforcement or theft.

In general, it is safe to say while it may come down to preference for some that doors should be locked most of the time especially in “unsafe” areas.

Myth #3: Hiding a Spare Key Outside Is a Safe Practice.

There are some reasons people use to justify hiding a key under a mat or in the flowers. If one lives in a household or apartment where they aren’t allowed to copy the main set of keys.

Another is to allow for unauthorized entry of strangers where a spare key isn’t necessary.

While these may seem convenient and justified it’s not a safe practice and can serve as precursors to criminal activity.

Investing in smart lock technology or having a trusted confidante or neighbour in the case of emergencies is a much safer route.

Myth #4: If You're Not on Social Media, You're Safe from Cybersecurity Threats.

Cybersecurity though may seem multi-faceted is arguably not talked about enough.

With still much of the world not having internet access or despite using cellphones, quite a few aren’t aware of what it means and the potential risks involved with their data being misused.

While fully delving into the risks would be another post itself, staying off social media doesn’t absolve one from the potential cybersecurity threats.

While social media companies’ business model is off aggregating personal data directly or through third party sources, there are other threats such malicious websites, botnets and other threats that could steal and misuse your data.

While having a decent presence and digital footprint is important, one should take the steps such as strong passwords, additional encryption methods (like 2 Factor Authentication or physical security keys) to protect your accounts from authenticated access.

Limiting the third party apps you allow to be integrated with Facebook accounts/pages and not using your account to sign in to other platforms is helpful as well.



Myth #5: Dark Clothing Makes You Safer at Night.

This is an interesting one. In movies when you see dark clothing nightly you think of a villain or even a superhero who is on the hunt and something dangerous is about to go down.

Or on a time like Halloween where people would wear their creative or sexy costumes, however darker clothing can be a potential safety hazard.

Also while it’s dark and most clothing items may seem the same, it is an issue so sometimes a security risk.

On roads: at night darker clothing can make one harder to spot on the road leading to a possible collision.

Possibility of being mistaken for an intruder: Law enforcement or security personnel are trained to identify certain profiles you may find yourself necessarily on the end of harsher treatment.

Your appearance may spook someone unnecessarily leading them to shoot at in self defense.

Conclusion

These are just some of the myths around personal safety and why it’s important some light be shed on them.

It is your responsibility to protect your safety and your loved one as much as possible.