Status updates, picture tagging, and location check-ins. Social media is a great way to keep in touch with old friends, distant relatives, or to check in on the whereabouts of family members. For many, social media can even be a way to check out a potential date or employee/employer. So much information is readily available with people giving constant updates on their daily lives. But have you ever stopped to wonder why this is?
It could be due to social media addiction. Researchers at the UCLA Brain Mapping Center have found that “likes” on social media can affect the brain in the same way that seeing a loved one would. This addiction to the good feeling that social media gives, in turn leads to people using social media more in order to continue experiencing the gratification that comes along with a “successful” post.
There is a benefit to social media addiction, for social media investigators that is. The addiction to the way social media makes a person feel can cause them to not consider the repercussions of what they’re posting. This can ultimately lead social media investigators to being able to obtain information in a more efficient manner than through traditional investigative surveillance.
The compulsive need for validation is a major benefit to social media investigators. People are constantly uploading evidence, and when they’re not the one uploading the evidence themselves, their friends and family are. When people are constantly updating where they are or who they’re with, it makes it easy for an investigator to find that person and to find the facts.
Here’s an example: An employee is suing the company he works for over a work related back injury. The same employee goes bungee jumping and posts the photo to his Facebook. On the other hand, instead of posting a photo of himself bungee jumping, maybe the employee posts about missing his child’s soccer game due to his back injury. Either way, this is great news for a social media investigator because our job is to find facts to help our clients make informed decisions; whether they validate or invalidate an individual’s claims.
Social media networks have made it easier than ever to stay in contact with friends and family. At the same time, they’ve provided investigators a new, and oftentimes better, source of information to conduct investigations. For this reason Bosco Legal, led by Joseph Jones a Certified Social Media Intelligence Expert, has put itself at the forefront of the Social Media Investigation industry and has become a nationally recognized brand to help individuals, law firms and insurance companies get the facts they need.
