Smart devices have come a very long way, and your interaction with them has been up since the entire nation went into lockdown. Amazon’s Alexa, Google Home, Apple’s Siri, smart light bulbs, and cameras are smart devices you have been using for a long time. You can interact with them in your voice or through an app.
Before the pandemic hit the world, there had been a rise in the demand for smart devices by 12%, and it is expected that this will keep growing down the line. The demand for such devices has been up to because they improve the quality of your life. People look for convenience, so it is hard to resist enjoying ordering a device to turn on and off the AC and lights.
Such devices automate most of your tasks, and hence you enjoy the comfort. The other reason for the higher demand for these devices is that they save your time and provide you with protection.
For instance, the internet-connected video doorbell can help you know who is standing at the door without opening it. Although there are various benefits of smart devices, they are some threats. These tools can eventually turn against you – they can be a tool of causing domestic abuse.
Smart devices are being a weapon to stalk the victim
Perhaps you have not thought about it – but everything has its own pros and cons. Likewise, smart devices are also giving an opportunity for abusers to control and harass their victims. For instance, various mobile phones can track the activity of your partner without letting them know about it.
There are various apps that have been designed to track the devices that can be used in that way. There are a number of devices in your home connected with the internet that can record your movements and behavior and the abuser can use this data to abuse you.
You will be surprised to know that internet-connected video doorbells make it possible for anyone to watch from anywhere what you are doing. Likewise, sensors on doors can reveal who comes in and who goes out.
Smart devices connected with the internet have made it easier for abusers to know and control their every move. Internet-connected locks can keep you from going out of your house – in fact, can lockout of certain rooms.
Eventually, the freedom of moving across your house will fade into the suffocation of being locked in a cabin. Voice-controlled devices can let you access search history and personal data. This can pose a threat to your relationship with your partner.
It is not just location tracking – it is much more
When it comes to technology abuse, it does not end with location tracking. If one person controls all of the devices, it strips control from the others. Surveillance may be good but to a little extent. After a point, it becomes stalking.
You will have stress and fear that someone is tracking your every movement and as a result, you will feel like you are imprisoned. Technology-oriented domestic violence can be worse and severe. Although there are various forms of domestic abuse, technology can take it one step up.
As a result, it highly increases the risk of depression, abortion, stress, and severe medical conditions. It can lead to murder. Studies have reported that domestic abuse can be contagious like a virus. Children who witness violence are more likely to become abusers when they enter adulthood. In brief, it just starts with location tracking but ends with nowhere.
It can make coercion and control worse
If you have an administrator account and you suspect that you are being watched or tracked, you change the password, but as your partner is notified that the security information has been changed, they can attempt violence for such as an abrupt change in the password.
Your partner can be suspicious about your behavior and lifestyle. On the other hand, when you do not disconnect with all previous accounts or change the password after you have parted your ways, your former partner can still track you where you live, where you go, and who you are dating.
Well, people are chasing smart devices and they do not mind funding them with quick loans in Ireland when they do not have enough money. You need to be aware of what you are bringing in when you are buying these devices.
Most people are excited about what these smart devices can do when you connect them with one of two devices like lights and AC. You do not understand what the connection can result into.
It is crucial to analyze the other side of the coin. The makers have not designed these devices thinking about the misuse of them, but sometimes people find a way to misuse them.
