In this age of technology and innovation, it’s easy to share photos and memories on the internet with just a few taps on your phone. While it’s generally great that it’s so easy to share, there’s certainly a dark side to it too. Intimate photos, videos and texts shared with a partner can quickly become a liability when in the hands of a scorned lover. The frightening ease and speed with which your most private moments can be spread across the internet are cause for concern for any separating couple.
In fact, a study conducted by McAfee prior to last Valentine’s Day found that 36% of the surveyed individuals planned on sending a private photo to their significant other, whether by text, social network or email. Additionally, approximately 10% of participants reported that at least one of their exes had threatened to post one of these photos online.
That’s not all you have to worry about though. Approximately 49% of individuals reported snooping through an ex’s email account and a whopping 56% went through their partner’s bank account and social media. The moral of the story? Change your passwords as soon as your relationship has gone downhill. Many couples share their account passwords during the relationship as a sign of mutual trust, but once the relationship has dissolved possible precaution should be taken to protect your privacy and security.
And how about those naughty photos that were exchanged? What do you do about those? Well, simply put, don’t send them in the first place. Once the image has been sent it’s completely out of your control what the other individual does with it. Short of begging and pleading there’s really no way to guarantee the photos won’t be spread. The best way from putting yourself into that predicament is to refrain from sending those types of photos entirely.
Relationship expert and clinical psychologist Erika Holiday suggests letting your ex know that the break-up has been just as difficult for you as it has for them. She suggests that the most common reason for an ex to share private photos is that they’re feeling pain over the dissolution of the relationship. By trying to reason with the individual and show that you’re in a similar place, the likelihood of their taking any malicious action will be decreased.
If for whatever reason the photos are leaked anyways, there’s very little that can be done in regards to taking he images down. Once something is up on the internet, it’s pretty much there for good.
The truth is that the best way to protect yourself from a malicious ex is not to give them anything to use against you in the first place.
What do you think? Do you have any personal experiences that you’ve learned from that you can share? Let us know in the comments below.
