Selfie, snapshot or security threat?

22 July 20254 min read

How safe are you on social media? You may be shocked to learn just how revealing your happy snaps really are writes Get it’s Hayley Bogaard

I’m sorry Madonna, but we are no longer living in a material world. We are living in social media world. And in social media world, the saying goes: picture or it didn’t happen. No longer is it enough to simply eat your brunch, you must photograph it, filter it and post it. And if you don’t post a mirror selfie in your Lorna Jane tights, did you even work out?

So in a world so consumed by images, how much do you really think about what you’re posting? You may be surprised at how these seemingly innocent photos, could be revealing a whole lot more than you ever intended!

Boarding Pass

Look up #boardingpass on Instagram and you’ll find over 109,000 posts. Who knew it was a thing, right? While you may be tempted to post a photo of your boarding pass to brag about your adventures, think again. With your boarding pass details, savvy users may be able to access your full itinerary, frequent flyer logins, and even credit card details. Think covering up your personal details will solve that problem? Wrong. The barcode on your boarding pass also contains all your personal booking details and can be read easily using an online barcode reader. You’ve been warned!

Your Workspace

It’s a Thursday morning, you’re on your second cup of coffee and productivity is at a peak. You take a quick photo of your workspace with your cute notepad, laptop and kitschy coffee cup and post it online. Perfectly innocent, right? Well, one blogger found out how dangerous this can be when, after posting a picture of her home office set up, her followers quickly pointed out that by zooming in on the photo, her diary and post-it notes were clearly visible – featuring phone numbers, personal information, client names and invoices being chased. Gulp!

School Uniforms

The kids are heading back to school and look adorable in their school uniforms – complete with oversized backpacks and dorky straight-brimmed hat – so you take the traditional back to school snap and post it to Facebook. You’re a proud mumma! Well, you’ve just announced where your child will be seven hours a day, five days a week. Does that sound safe to you? No, me neither.

Sold Sign

Recently, a popular blogger shared a photo that showed her standing with the auction sign out the front of the house she had just purchased. The street number was visible, as well as the name of the real estate agent. One simple Google search using these details, delivered her full address and the price she paid at auction. You wouldn’t announce these details publicly, so don’t inadvertently post it in your photos!

Gift Cards and Credit Cards

Learn this valuable lesson from those who have learned it before you. In 2016, a Perth woman decided to sell an unwanted makeup voucher online to make some extra cash for a holiday. She took a few snaps, uploaded them to Facebook and within minutes the $94 value was stolen. Avoid posting any images that include barcodes or reference numbers, as these can easily be used in an online store. Oh and when it comes to posting a photo of your credit card, the rule is simple: don’t.

Have you discovered the magic of Google Maps Street View? The Google feature provides real life, panoramic views from positions along streets all over the world. Want to see what the house you grew up in looks like? Punch in the address to Google Maps Street View and you’re whisked right back to your childhood home. Amazing!

But this technology is loved by more than just the nostalgic. Criminals around the world are utilising the technology to ‘case a joint’ from the comfort of their own home. No longer do they need to sneak around in the shadows of the night to assess your home or business for a potential break in. By using Google Maps Street View, they are able to see potential entry points to your home, if you have a dog, if any security systems or gates are present and find good hiding places around your property. Scary, right?!

While there’s not much you can do about this one, it just goes to prove how technology can be used for both good and evil and how aware you need to be about your safety online!

Feeling Off? It Might Be More Connected Than You Think

For many women, health conversations happen in fragments. You visit one practitioner for a sore back, another for fatigue, and another for hormonal shifts that leave you wondering if you’re just “getting older.” But what if all of those threads were actually part of the same story? That’s the philosophy at the heart of The Good Joint, a Gold Coast integrated health clinic where practitioners don’t just work in the same building, they work together. One Clinic, One Conversation .. A Team Built Around You Under the guidance of Founder and Head Chiropractor Luke Veverka, the team at The Good Joint brings together an exceptional group of women’s health specialists, among them Prue their Naturopath, Hollie their Acupuncturist, Victoria their Physiotherapist, alongside Chiropractor Julie (who also specialises in pregnancy care) and Remedial Massage Therapist and Manual Lymphatic Drainage practitioners Mikayla and Michele. Across chiropractic, acupuncture, naturopathy and massage, each practitioner is part of a connected conversation about your care. Women’s Health, From the Inside Out The team is particularly passionate about hormone regulation and nervous system support, two areas that are deeply intertwined and often underestimated in their influence on everything from energy and mood to pain, sleep, and recovery. “When your nervous system is dysregulated, or your hormones are out of sync, it affects your whole life,” the team explains. “Our goal is to look at the full picture, not just treat the symptom.” Whether you’re navigating perimenopause, recovering from pregnancy, managing chronic stress or simply want to feel more like yourself, Good Joint offers a warm, collaborative space to start that conversation. GOOD JOINT™ Stop Getting Passed Around.Everyone’s already here. thegoodjoint.com.au | 07 5651 65942563 Gold Coast Highway, Mermaid Beach

Health and Wellness

Beat the Sunday Scaries: 7 Things to Try Before Monday

By Zahra Ciardi, Psychologist and founder of Ascendant Bali Sunday evening can sometimes feel like the weekend has ended before it actually has. Your thoughts shift towards Monday, unfinished tasks start circling and suddenly checking your inbox feels difficult to resist. Often called the ‘Sunday scaries’, this dread can be a form of anticipatory anxiety – anxiety driven by what might happen next. Interestingly, it’s often uncertainty rather than workload that fuels the feeling. A packed but predictable week may feel more manageable than a quiet one with a single unresolved issue. There is an important distinction, though. If you’re dreading Monday because you’re returning to a harmful workplace, manager or team, that anxiety has a known cause. These strategies may help manage the immediate feelings, but they won’t solve the underlying problem. Otherwise, try these seven things in the final hours of Sunday. 1. Clear your open loops Spend five minutes writing down unfinished tasks, questions and anything you’re worried about forgetting. Choose one or two priorities for Monday and leave the rest on the page. Getting those thoughts out of your head can free up valuable mental space. 2. Reality-check Monday Separate what you know will happen from what you’re predicting. Ask yourself what might be difficult but manageable and what support you have available. The aim isn’t to convince yourself everything will be perfect, but to bring your thinking back to what’s actually known. 3. Create a moment of control Make one decision, complete a small task or set a boundary. Even when you can’t control the bigger stressor, a genuine sense of agency can help reduce distress. 4. Leave something unresolved Resist the urge to plan away every unknown. Instead, deliberately leave one manageable thing unresolved until Monday. Learning to tolerate small amounts of uncertainty can gradually reduce the need to control every detail. 5. Check messages once If completely avoiding your inbox makes you more anxious, choose one time to check it. Set a firm limit and decide what genuinely requires action. Constant checking can briefly relieve uncertainty, but quickly becomes a cycle. 6. Set a finishing time Choose a realistic cut-off for work messages and planning, then create a physical transition into the rest of your evening. Take a walk, have a shower or change into comfortable clothes – anything that signals the working week hasn’t started yet. 7. Stop solving Monday in bed If anxiety is keeping you awake, add anything you’re worried about forgetting to your list. If you’re still alert, get up briefly and do something quiet in low light rather than reopening your inbox or returning to planning. The goal isn’t to eliminate every uncomfortable feeling about Monday. It’s to stop treating uncertainty like an emergency – and allow some things to remain unknown until morning.

Health and Wellness

Visceral Fat: The Fat You Can’t See – and Why It Matters

We tend to think of body fat as the soft layer we can see or pinch around our stomach, hips or thighs. But there’s another type of fat that deserves our attention – visceral fat. Unlike subcutaneous fat, which sits just beneath the skin, visceral fat is stored deep inside the abdomen, surrounding organs such as the liver, pancreas and intestines. You can’t see or pinch it and, perhaps surprisingly, you can carry higher levels even if you appear relatively slim. Why does visceral fat matter? Visceral fat isn’t simply stored energy. It is metabolically active, releasing hormones and inflammatory compounds that can affect how the body functions. Higher levels have been linked to insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, fatty liver and metabolic syndrome. For women, age and hormonal changes can also play a role. As oestrogen levels fall through menopause, the body has a greater tendency to store fat around the abdomen – which may explain why your waistline can begin to change even when your lifestyle hasn’t dramatically altered. The encouraging news is that visceral fat responds well to relatively simple lifestyle changes and is often among the first fat to reduce when overall body fat decreases. Do you have too much? You don’t necessarily need a special scan to get an indication. Waist measurement is a useful and simple starting point. For women, a waist measurement over 80cm suggests an increased health risk, while over 88cm suggests a higher risk. Another easy guide is your waist-to-height ratio – ideally, your waist should measure less than half your height. These measurements are general guides rather than a diagnosis, so speak to your GP if you have concerns. Why does it build up? There’s rarely one single cause. Visceral fat can increase through a combination of consuming more energy than the body uses, highly processed foods, sugary drinks and alcohol, low physical activity, ageing, hormonal changes, poor sleep, chronic stress and genetics. While we can’t control every factor, there is plenty we can influence. How to reduce visceral fat Forget endless sit-ups – unfortunately, we can’t choose where our body loses fat. Instead, focus on reducing overall body fat and building healthier habits. Eat well: Base meals around vegetables, lean protein, fibre-rich carbohydrates and healthy fats, while reducing highly processed foods, refined carbohydrates and sugary snacks. Combine strength and cardio: Brisk walking, cycling, jogging or interval training can help burn energy, while strength training builds and maintains muscle and supports metabolism. Cut back on alcohol: Alcohol can add significant extra energy and is associated with fat storage around the middle. Prioritise sleep: Aim for around seven to nine hours. Poor sleep can disrupt hormones involved in appetite and fat storage. Manage stress: Chronic stress raises cortisol, which can encourage abdominal fat storage and increase cravings. Walking, time outdoors, gentle exercise and simply making time to unwind can all help. Small changes count Reducing visceral fat doesn’t require extreme diets or punishing workouts. Consistency is far more important. Eating well, moving regularly, including strength training, getting enough sleep, managing stress and moderating alcohol can all make a difference – not simply to your waistline, but to your long-term health. And that makes visceral fat worth paying attention to, even if you can’t see it.

Health and Wellness

Women who golf

Golf might once have had a reputation as a sport for retirees with plenty of time on their hands, but those days are well and truly behind us. Women of all ages are discovering that a round of golf delivers much more than a little friendly competition. In fact, golf has quietly become part of the health and wellbeing conversation, combining exercise, fresh air, mental stimulation and social connection – without necessarily feeling like exercise at all. At Southport Golf Club, that growing interest is easy to see. The club has welcomed 84 new women members over the past two years, all of whom have continued their membership, joining an existing community of around 170 women. Exercise Without the Gym An 18-hole round can clock up more than 10,000 steps and burn around 900 calories. But unlike pounding away on a treadmill, you’re usually far too busy thinking about your next shot, chatting with your playing partners and enjoying the surroundings to notice just how active you’ve been. Walking the course also helps strengthen and tone muscles, while providing regular moderate exercise that can contribute to better cardiovascular health. Good for the Mind, Too There’s something to be said for spending a few hours outdoors. Fresh air, green spaces and physical activity can help reduce stress, improve mood and boost self-esteem, while the release of endorphins can leave you feeling happier, more relaxed and even sleeping better. Regular physical activity can also help reduce the risk of conditions including heart disease, high cholesterol and dementia, supporting our health as we age. Keep Learning Golf is one of those wonderful games you never completely master – which might occasionally be infuriating, but it’s also part of the appeal. Learning new skills, setting goals and challenging yourself keeps the brain engaged and provides a real sense of achievement. Friends, Fun and Connection Perhaps one of golf’s greatest benefits is its social side. It creates opportunities to meet new people, strengthen friendships and enjoy time with family – with plenty of conversation along the way. And you don’t need to be super fit, young or particularly sporty to start. The handicap system allows different abilities to play together, while choosing between nine or 18 holes means golf can fit into busy lives. Exercise, friendship, fresh air and a little healthy competition? Perhaps golf really is onto something.