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There are a number of potential downsides that come with deciding to routinely chronicle a good chunk of your life on social media for the rest of the world to see. There are plenty of people who’ve learned that lesson the hard way, including a woman who’s been charged with shoplifting at a Target in Florida with the help of a TikTok video of her trip to the store.
Most people who got a stern talking-to from their parents thanks to party pictures littered with red Solo cups that were posted to MySpace or Facebook in the nascent days of social media quickly learned you need to use some discretion when deciding what to post on the internet.
Of course, resisting the urge to fall victim to the dopamine rush that keeps users coming back is easier said than done, and now that we live in a world where 57% of the members of Gen Z want to make a living as an influencer, there’s no shortage of people who don’t think twice about compulsively chronicling their day-to-day activities online.
TikTok is filled to the brim with users who fall under that umbrella, including Marlena Velez, a Florida-based woman who’s racked up more than 350,000 followers on the platform with fairly innocuous videos that largely revolve around homemaking, self-care, and shopping.
According to Local12, that digital archive included a now-deleted clip of Velez making the trek to Target on the day before Halloween where she filmed herself scooping up a number of items before throwing them in the back of her car.
The video did not include a clip of her ringing her things up at a self-checkout register, but based on what the Cape Coral Police Department had to say, it would have shown her committing the crime she’s been charged with after allegedly using a fraudulent barcode to help herself to a significant discount before leaving the store with 16 items valued at $500.32.
A loss prevention worker at Target contacted police after witnessing the alleged theft, and the department posted surveillance footage of Velez leaving the store on social media in search of a lead. They got one courtesy of an anonymous tipster who provided them with her name and Instagram handle, which eventually led them to the TikTok video where she was rocking the same outfit at the store in question.
Velez was arrested and charged with petty theft and was released after posting bail to the tune of $150.