11 Useful And Potentially Life-Saving Safety Tips Shared By This TikToker
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The world is a wonderful place with lots of amazing people, but sadly, there is a dark side to it. It can get really dangerous when you meet people with some bad intentions. So it is always smart to be aware of your surroundings and just be cautious.
It’s no secret that this applies more to women than men. And there are a few things that are useful to keep in mind. TikToker @spencer.barbosa shared some safety tips that might come in handy one day, not that anyone would want that day to come.
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TikToker Spencer Barbosa shared some personal safety tips which are primarily targeted at women, but are useful to know for everyone, and the videos got millions of views
Image credits: spencer.barbosa
Spencer is a an 18-year-old content creator, entrepreneur, and actress. She has 3.5 million followers on TikTok, 339k followers on Instagram, and she has a YouTube channel with 22k subscribers.
On her biggest platform, TikTok, Spencer shares life hacks, personal thoughts, clothing hauls, and creates inspirational content to motivate other people to reach for their dream lives. Her videos rack up views easily and she goes viral regularly, reaching over a million views per video.
If someone doesn’t leave you alone or is trying to abduct you, try to attract people’s attention to you and scare the attacker by going insane
Image credits: spencer.barbosa
Most of Spencer’s videos are lighthearted and fun, but there are some more serious ones. Among these are a few videos about women’s safety.
The TikToker starts off by saying that her heart is aching that these types of videos are necessary, but they might potentially save someone’s life. She mentions that the majority of her followers are female and she wants them to be safe.
Don’t put your hair in a ponytail if you’re going for a run alone
Image credits: spencer.barbosa
If you can’t carry pepper spray, buy bear spray or hairspray and aim at the eyes
Image credits: spencer.barbosa
The first tip she gives is that if you ever feel followed, someone is touching you and not leaving you alone, or even is trying to abduct you, then you should make sure everyone knows about it and draw everyone’s attention to what is happening. Spencer suggests screaming, barking, biting, and just going as crazy as you can.
The second tip is for those who like to go running. If you’re doing it alone, you should be aware of how you tie your hair, because if you like the comfortable and effortless hairstyle of a ponytail, then you should reconsider it. As Spencer explains, it is very easy for someone to grab you by the hair and drag you.
Image credits: spencer.barbosa
Spencer lives in Canada and it appears that you can’t have pepper spray on you there. But you can carry bear spray. And if you’re not Canadian and it’s the first time you are hearing about bear spray, or you also live in a country where pepper spray is also illegal or hard to find, Spencer’s advice is to use hairspray instead and aim for the attacker’s eyes.
This video got 1.3 million views and more than 430k people liked it. People in the comments were saying that these tips are actually useful, but that it is sad that women have to go through this. Spencer mentioned that she will be doing more of these videos so that her followers can keep themselves safe.
More attacks happen in stairwells at night, so better use the elevator
Image credits: spencer.barbosa
Keep your car keys on your nightstand so they’re easily accessible at night
Image credits: spencer.barbosa
Image credits: spencer.barbosa
After a while, Spencer returned to the personal safety tips and made two more videos. One of them has 4.9 million views and the other, 3.6 million. So it seems that this topic is really relevant and millions of people find the videos useful.
So, another life-saving tip is to choose an elevator instead of stairs if you’re alone at night, because according to Spencer, more attacks happen in the stairwell. Another thing to consider is where you keep your car keys. If you’re keeping them at the front door, it’s worth moving them to your nightstand. Then if something happens at night, you can grab them and press the panic button to set your car’s alarm off.
Don’t share that you’re alone and what’s your location to everyone on social media
Image credits: spencer.barbosa
If you feel like someone’s following you, show them your face and take a look at theirs
Image credits: spencer.barbosa
An important one is to never post your location on social media. Strangers don’t need to know where you are. It is wild, but Spencer claims that she sees a lot of young girls saying that they’re alone. There are people who will take advantage of that so just think twice before posting something.
Here’s an interesting fact: rapists find their targets less attractive after they’ve seen their face. So if you feel like someone is following you, turn your head to show your face. And in the meantime, remember theirs.
Don’t be alone in the dark where you can’t see your surroundings
Image credits: spencer.barbosa
Don’t make yourself more vulnerable by being on your phone when you’re walking alone
Image credits: spencer.barbosa
A lot of these tips have to do with people being alone. You just have to be super cautious and aware of your surroundings. For example, if it’s dark, then you should avoid going out alone. And it could be dangerous to text as you will be more vulnerable and will be less likely to notice if someone gets too close for comfort. But if the worst happens and someone wants to take you, the girl encourages you not to worry about being kind and just smack with all your might with your elbow.
Trick people into thinking that a man lives with you by putting big worn shoes outside
Image credits: spencer.barbosa
If someone is grabbing you, concentrate all your energy into smacking them with your elbow
Image credits: spencer.barbosa
At the beginning of the year, a video went viral of a girl finding ‘1F’ written on her snowy garbage can. TikTok users were convinced that someone marked for themselves that one female is living in that house so that they maybe could go back at night. It’s really creepy that you can’t even feel safe in your own house.
Spencer has a tactic for that: go to a thrift store and buy a huge pair of men’s boots or ask someone you know who has some to spare. Make them look dirty and used and put them in front of your house. It will create an illusion that a big man is living in the house and hopefully it should discourage any invaders.
What do you think of these tips? Have you ever had to use any of these? Also, share your tips in the comments so more people will know how to protect themselves!
@spencer.barbosait’s so sad that i even have to make this😔 #safety #personalsafety #lifesaving #advice #female♬ Aesthetic – Xilo
Video credits: spencer.barbosa
The TikToker got very much love for posting the videos, with almost all of the reactions being very positive
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"Tips to save your life": Talk to an actual security expert about how to best proceed, and ignore TikTok/etc. :-)
As a former security guard and Krav Maga practitioner for many years (our Krav school also provides training and lectures on how to avoid getting into a fight to begin with) I have to say most of the things this girl says make absolute sense. But I absolutely agree there is a lot of terrible info on self defence out there. There's this youtube channel called: Reality Check Self Defence. They're like the mythbusters of bad self defence tips. Very interesting and entertaining in my opinion.
They make sense to a *point*. I'm not about to barricade myself into a hotel room when I may need to leave in a hurry, for example. (Blocking your own exit is a no-no according to my uncle, who is a security expert.) His rules are: 1. Use your brain 2. Use your feet 3. if you are now out of options, use anything you can grab and the goal is "don't die", screw the rules. Since he's survived a long and "interesting" life, I tend to give him more credence than a random TikTok/Youtube/whatever.
It never ceases to amaze me just how much detail of their personal life people post on social media. Here we are in Paris, next week Berlin etc. Might as well just say, "Attention thieves our house is empty for a few weeks."
Yep. And they'll tag friends who are with them without permission. I don't post things about where I am on social media. I don't want other people posting it without my permission.
I live in fear that someone will kidnap my 'friend' Ava, who lives at 109 Darewell Drive, Apartment 8-J, keeps door unlocked, can't miss it.
Yeah, my tip would be “don’t post on social media”.
Yeah, really. I just read a post on NextDoor where someone said, "We're going away for a week..." Oy, vey! NextDoor doesn't give precise addresses but tells what neighborhood you're in.
Are you saying that people shouldn’t post about traveling on social media? I feel like the thieves would have to see the post, connect my identity to my address, and target my house. Seems unlikely.
You could just post pictures from your trip when you get home.
only post about your vacation once you're already home
Your face is there for all to see. How many relatives,friends and acquaintances do you have? How many relatives, friends and acquaintances do they have. How many tradesmen have attended the property? What about employees of service providers that have access to your address? The number of people who recognise you and know exactly where you live is greater than you think. Are they all completely honest?
The pony tail is bullshit. Do you know how hard it is to grab the ponytail of someone who is running? They'll go for an arm first. Take the elevator? Yeah sure, so you can be shut in a small compartment with a potential attacker, good idea! NOT. Where there is light there is sight? Yup, and a potential attacker can see you're alone, good idea! NOT. Also, push the panic button on your car fob? NOBODY reacts to car alarms going off anymore, it just happens way too often.
Elevators often have cameras which is a deterrent to criminals
Often, but not always. And they are not always monitored either.
The ponytail is not bullshit at all. A survey done in the 70ies with actual rapists reveleaed that most of them looked for women with ponytails and/or easy to remove clothes when picking their victims. A ponytail is much easier to grab on then loose hair.
Plus even when you're in the light, it could be the middle of the day in a busy city and it won't stop someone from attacking you. No one is likely coming to save you. People are afraid of getting involved. People are more likely to record it on their phones. There was a girl who was randomly attacked at a busy bus stop and no one helped, everyone was recording it and actually laughing at the girl getting beat up. They thought the 2 girls knew each other.
Also, do you know how hard it is to run with your hair in your face? (It's also probably easier to attack someone if their hair is in their eyes and they can't see you.)
Well no duh they're gonna grab your arm then grab your hair it just makes sense
"Tips to save your life": Talk to an actual security expert about how to best proceed, and ignore TikTok/etc. :-)
As a former security guard and Krav Maga practitioner for many years (our Krav school also provides training and lectures on how to avoid getting into a fight to begin with) I have to say most of the things this girl says make absolute sense. But I absolutely agree there is a lot of terrible info on self defence out there. There's this youtube channel called: Reality Check Self Defence. They're like the mythbusters of bad self defence tips. Very interesting and entertaining in my opinion.
They make sense to a *point*. I'm not about to barricade myself into a hotel room when I may need to leave in a hurry, for example. (Blocking your own exit is a no-no according to my uncle, who is a security expert.) His rules are: 1. Use your brain 2. Use your feet 3. if you are now out of options, use anything you can grab and the goal is "don't die", screw the rules. Since he's survived a long and "interesting" life, I tend to give him more credence than a random TikTok/Youtube/whatever.
It never ceases to amaze me just how much detail of their personal life people post on social media. Here we are in Paris, next week Berlin etc. Might as well just say, "Attention thieves our house is empty for a few weeks."
Yep. And they'll tag friends who are with them without permission. I don't post things about where I am on social media. I don't want other people posting it without my permission.
I live in fear that someone will kidnap my 'friend' Ava, who lives at 109 Darewell Drive, Apartment 8-J, keeps door unlocked, can't miss it.
Yeah, my tip would be “don’t post on social media”.
Yeah, really. I just read a post on NextDoor where someone said, "We're going away for a week..." Oy, vey! NextDoor doesn't give precise addresses but tells what neighborhood you're in.
Are you saying that people shouldn’t post about traveling on social media? I feel like the thieves would have to see the post, connect my identity to my address, and target my house. Seems unlikely.
You could just post pictures from your trip when you get home.
only post about your vacation once you're already home
Your face is there for all to see. How many relatives,friends and acquaintances do you have? How many relatives, friends and acquaintances do they have. How many tradesmen have attended the property? What about employees of service providers that have access to your address? The number of people who recognise you and know exactly where you live is greater than you think. Are they all completely honest?
The pony tail is bullshit. Do you know how hard it is to grab the ponytail of someone who is running? They'll go for an arm first. Take the elevator? Yeah sure, so you can be shut in a small compartment with a potential attacker, good idea! NOT. Where there is light there is sight? Yup, and a potential attacker can see you're alone, good idea! NOT. Also, push the panic button on your car fob? NOBODY reacts to car alarms going off anymore, it just happens way too often.
Elevators often have cameras which is a deterrent to criminals
Often, but not always. And they are not always monitored either.
The ponytail is not bullshit at all. A survey done in the 70ies with actual rapists reveleaed that most of them looked for women with ponytails and/or easy to remove clothes when picking their victims. A ponytail is much easier to grab on then loose hair.
Plus even when you're in the light, it could be the middle of the day in a busy city and it won't stop someone from attacking you. No one is likely coming to save you. People are afraid of getting involved. People are more likely to record it on their phones. There was a girl who was randomly attacked at a busy bus stop and no one helped, everyone was recording it and actually laughing at the girl getting beat up. They thought the 2 girls knew each other.
Also, do you know how hard it is to run with your hair in your face? (It's also probably easier to attack someone if their hair is in their eyes and they can't see you.)
Well no duh they're gonna grab your arm then grab your hair it just makes sense