Poll: Most Adults Say Social Media Crime Content Spurred Home Security Improvement

Forty-eight percent of adults cite crime content on social media as their motivation to improve home security, according to a recent survey by ConsumerAffairs.

Local crime rates was the second most motivating factor, at 46%, followed by stolen packages at 33% and previous break-ins at 31%.

Other results from the survey include:

• Firearms were the least popular security feature in American homes, with only 28% of respondents reporting that they own one for safety.
• Firearms made men feel safer than women: with 43% of males saying guns made them feel very safe compared to only 32% of females.
• Among those who own security cameras, 71% check the footage at least once a day
• Three in four participants with security cameras have seen suspicious activity on the recorded footage
• Overall, 57% of respondents say they do not ensure that their doors are locked at night
• Respondents spent an average of $289 annually on home security, with women paying more than men and families spending more than twice as much as couples.
• For example, the average spent on a Ring doorbell camera was $187. Often these costs can be offset by other savings – such as receiving a discount on one’s  home insurance premium after installing a smart security system.

The project surveyed 1,000 respondents ranging in ages 18 to 75 years on their home security habits, actions and motivations. The mean age was 42. Fifty-four percent of respondents were men, 45% were women and 1% were nonbinary. Thirty-nine percent of respondents lived in urban areas, 40% in the suburbs, 9% in small towns and 12% in rural areas.

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