Influencers and content creators share their everyday lives, from what they eat, to how they live, and even where they live. The most successful content creators make thousands of dollars off of just one video. The money is the main appeal but everyone wants to influence people in some form or another. However; being a public figure and showing every part of your life is not as fun as most people make it out to be.
What’s the Point of an Apartment or House Tour?
Apartment and house tours are a fun way to show one’s style and inspire people. For celebrities and influencers, it’s a great way to promote products from certain furniture brands—the most obvious being Architectural Digest’s “Open Door.” All of the homes that are shown on Open Door are curated by prop stylists. It’s not necessarily a secret but more so a fact that is minimized. The YouTuber and prop stylist, Paige Wassel has made numerous videos discussing and showing what it’s like to be a prop stylist.
I am an avid watcher of apartment tours on YouTube and TikTok, From Apartment therapy to Architectural Digest to small creators. Like many other people, I have over a hundred pins saved on Pinterest of different people’s apartments. I’ve designed my apartment based on the other people’s homes. However, some people find it hard just to watch and continue with their day. People become fixated on the content creator’s life, forming a parasocial relationship.
What is Doxing?
People want what they can’t have and that’s what keeps social media in our lives. But do the the dangers of oversharing on social media out way the financial benefits? As we have seen hundreds of times before it is incredibly easy to find where someone is based on their IP address. There have also been instances of people finding private information about content creators like exact locations, and their rent amount, based on the home tour videos they posted on social media.
It does not stop at finding the information but also dox the creators. Doxing is when someone publicly exposes someone’s real name, phone number, address, job, or other identifying info like family members without the person’s consent. When it happens to a celebrity it doesn’t seem like a big deal because they can afford to hire 24-hour security guards and they live in gated communities. When it happens to a regular person who doesn’t have these layers of protection, it puts the creators at serious risk.
In the past few months, there has been a spike in doxing because fans of certain celebrities feel as if it is their job to “defend” their favorite rapper, actor, or pop star. It is important to respect the boundaries of the influencers you watch and don’t watch. No one deserves to have their private information exposed. People can and will take legal action if
How to Safely Show Your Home
If you absolutely want to post your home I recommend not disclosing the city or town you live in especially if it is small. And when recording try and avoid any windows that have a distinct landmark. For example, if you live across the street from Washington Square Park in New York City make sure the arch isn’t visible in the home tour.
An alternative to a video is photos that focus on certain aspects of your home. Like the plants, the couch, or an art wall. Yes, authenticity is nice and connects with viewers but in this case, only show the parts of the home you’re truly proud of. But if none of these options work, waiting until you have moved to post a home tour is a great alternative.
Have you used apartment tours for inspiration? Or are you the one inspiring people with your aesthetic home? What other things are dangers of oversharing on social media? Let us know!
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