Don't post your hiking pictures in real time
An adventure - and a reminder from Rocky Mountain National Park
Hello! The other day, I asked the internet to geolocate me by using these two pictures:
Here is the original tweet I did in support of my geolocation challenge (I’m not sure how long Twitter will exist in its current form, so if you’d like to archive it, please go ahead!):
https://twitter.com/NataliaAntonova/status/1681349256769310720
The first person to correctly geolocate me was Jose Monkey, which brought me a lot of joy, as he’s very big on TikTok now, and I still remember how much fun he had with my previous challenges. It’s an honor to be found by Jose Monkey!
Another method I really liked came courtesy of McCantow, who noticed a very distinct tree in the background:
Isn’t that cool?
I specifically wanted to do this challenge because of a dating app phenomenon that isn’t being discussed nearly as much as it needs to be:
People can sometimes find your social media profiles even if they don’t match with you.
It happens all the time. It has happened to me multiple times now. None of it was sinister in my case, but there are weirdos out there who take online courtship too far.
Consider this: You didn’t match with someone. Maybe you haven’t even glanced at their profile. You don’t know who they are. But they are now interested, perhaps to an unhealthy degree, and they are combing social media to try to find your other accounts.
Now imagine that you are on a long hike, or even a camping trip, and you’re posting pictures on a public profile in real time. Could an obsessive person try to ambush you? Yep, they could.
I specifically want to bring up hikes and camping, because this is how you can find yourself in an isolated area, far away from any help.
Now, I was on a crowded trail, it was daytime, I was with my family and friends, and had no intention (or permission) to stay out there overnight. Even then, I’ve gotten into this habit: No public pics or videos in real time. Especially not in the woods.
I’m not talking just to women here either. Men should also be aware that there are situations in which posting in real time is riskier.
I could go on a long rant about how we should totally put away our phones and just enjoy nature when we’re out hiking, but most people want to take pictures, and that’s perfectly fine. I hate it when people are shamed for wanting to capture cool memories.
Breaks from social media and dating apps are still very important though. Algorithms can really scramble and tire out your brain. And when you’re tired, you’re more likely to swipe on someone sketchy - simply because your defenses are down. Even if you don’t use dating apps, online burnout can affect you in very bad ways, resulting in poor choices.
I had a great time hiking out to Emerald Lake (the pictures were taken about midway in my journey) - splashing cool creek water on my face and staring at the Rockies, letting them also stare into me. It gave me a lot to ponder.
I hope this post has given you something to ponder too! Please share it with whoever can benefit from it, and stay with me for more!