The Financial Risk Of Social Media
It seems like there are a whole lot of people who document everything they do on social media.
Going to a movie? Tweet it.
Having desert? Facebook it.
Hang-gliding in Mexico? Instagram it.
Rock climbing in Utah? Tweet it.
Smoking a hooka with a friend? Post it.
Hmmm....You want the world to see everything ...except when you don't. And when might that be? Perhaps your mom on line. A prospective employer. Or an insurance underwriter.
Yes, social media is everywhere, and the truth is that once something is posted online...it's NEVER going away. You can do whatever you want to try to erase those images of you running with the bulls or cliff diving, but once they are posted, they are there. Forever.
While most of the items posted are innocent, some are not.
If in the future you are looking to get a high dollar figure insurance policy, do you think that pictures of you skateboarding behind a semi-truck will get you great rates? How about pics of you with a cigarette in your hand? Or base jumping like the guy in the picture? It's likely you wouldn't volunteer those kinds of photos to a life insurance underwriter, but you essentially are when you post them online.
While the searching of social media sites for information about you when you are applying for a life insurance policy doesn't seem to be a common item today, it could become standard practice in the future. Ditto for health insurance or other risk protection plans.
We often don't fully consider the ramifications of such seemingly innocent actions, but perhaps we should. While searching the web for information about you is probably unlikely today, it could become standard practice in the future. Big data. AI. Cloud storage. All of these developments may make such investigations commonplace in the future.
Here is a great article about this topic from the Wall Street Journal, by Byron and Scism
Can Social Media Posts Drive Up Insurance Costs?
Give it a read today before you go out tonight and post pictures of yourself walking on hot coals at a beach party...
WhiteCoat Risk Management provides these articles to help improve general risk awareness in all aspects of your life. It is not responsible for any actions you take or fail to take regarding any aspect of your financial planning or risk management. This article is provided for information purposes and is not intended to provide individualized advice. You alone are responsible for your financial decisions.
Visit or contact WhiteCoat Risk Management at www.WhiteCoatRiskManagement.com or join us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/WhiteCoatRisk/
