Behavior changes and paranoia

When Gage discovered the room behind her mirror in their hotel, she felt her right to privacy was violated by the mere possibility of being watched.

“I felt so freaked out, just knowing the possibility of someone could be watching you,” Gage said. “You always hear about stuff like that and you never think it’s going to happen to you, which it didn’t happen to me, but the possibility was really real.”

The effects of being recorded or watched can affect people in both good and bad ways, according to Murphy.

“It’s a double-edged thing, it can change people’s behaviors in a positive way,” Murphy said. “But at the same time, it can be negatively used against you without your consent. That is a real problem.”

According to Gage, as someone who has experience with an invasion of privacy, the fact that so much information is readily available online about her does not make it less scary.

“It just seems like so much is out there, that in a living space the only thing you can really control is how much you put out there,” Gage said. “By having that one security taken away from you, (or) feel like it might be, I think that’s why people get so freaked out.”

Schwen urges people to exercise caution when staying in short-term rentals, but not to let paranoia overtake reason.

“You should feel safe from being recorded if someone was following the law in the bathrooms and bedrooms and that kind of stuff. But as Airbnb says, they totally allow cameras in public living spaces like living rooms, so keep that in mind. I would say look around. Don’t be paranoid,” Schwen said. “I also wouldn’t do anything in any sort of public space, or space controlled by another person that I wouldn’t want recorded.”

If people feel they are overly paranoid, they should talk to a trusted peer or profesional, according to Murphy. He also said the odds of being recorded or watched are very slim, so it shouldn’t be an issue in most cases.

“Life is not like the movies, life is often more boring than you see. For example, I have clients that think all these people are watching them,” Murphy said. “I tell them, ‘the amount of money it would take, the amount of resources you’re talking about would be a huge enterprise. Frankly, you’re probably not that important.’ So, kind of reality check yourself about the level of scrutiny that you might be under.”