Most people have caught onto this trend, but if you haven’t you should! Iphone users have been sharing their location with each other since the feature was released in 2011. At first it was just a way to give people directions to where you currently were instead of sending an address, but it has evolved into a way for friends to know where you are at all times. The app makes giving people access to each other at all times even easier than when we could just text each other constantly. Another upside to find my friends is safety.
During the 2017-2018 school year, the University got 508 reports of sexual misconduct or sexual harrassment, up from the previous year of 445 reports. A recent poll found that 15% of women on campus were victims of rape while 28% were victims of sexual harassment. While knowing a friend’s location can’t necessarily 100% prevent these occurrences, keeping an eye on your friend while they are walking home may make them and you feel a little more safe. Knowing a friend’s location can also keep them safe if they are kidnapped. Recently there have been more and more reports of human trafficking, and knowing someone’s location may help prevent that. It always gives me more peace of mind when I can check in on my friends, and knowing that they can check up on me.
Although sharing your location with your friends can be helpful in these situations, women should also take the regular precautions like being aware of your surroundings, letting someone know where you’re going and how long you’re going to be there, carrying pepper spray, and even a personal alarm. Being a woman on a college campus or in a large town can be scary, but there are things we can do to give us more peace of mind. And it’s just fun to know where your friends are and knowing what they are up to by just looking at an app on your phone.