IN 2021, Apple released a new product: the AirTag.
They labeled it a convenient and easy way to keep track of your things: simply attach it to whatever you’re afraid of losing, and you’ll be able to find it with a simple swipe to the Find My app on your iPhone.
Over time, people started to get more creative with their use of AirTags.The latest trend? Women all over the world are having them sewn into their wigs.
The reason behind this, however, isn’t as fun as you think it may be.
Taking precautions
A few months ago, Facebook user Ashanti Tuggles posted photos of her placing an AirTag in her cousin’s wig.
She explained it was to keep her cousin safe during her solo trip to Mexico.
Another photo in the post showed a text thread between her and her cousin where Ashanti was keeping track of the former’s location, with Ashanti writing: “I’m watching you.”
Many others on the Internet have started to do the same. This trend hasn’t just been limited to women going on vacation, but even to kids going out without their parents.
The reason for this? To keep safe from human trafficking.
Aside from being able to keep track of your items, the AirTag also has a feature that allows you to share the location of the device with others.
For women going on solo travels, having this device installed allows them to feel safer knowing that their location can be tracked at any given time.
Reactions online
Since this trend started, many have shown support for the women who have participated in this trend. Others felt saddened by the fact that some women must go through such measures just to feel safe when on their own.
“Tragic but clever innovation; no one should [have] to think about this stuff,” one user on X writes. “Stay safe and keep looking out for each other.”
Others have also shared their concern about people posting these photos and videos online because kidnappers and human traffickers might see these videos, and in turn, start searching their victims’ hair for AirTags.
Some questioned whether this would work because anyone with an iPhone can be notified by the presence of a nearby AirTag. Nonetheless, it’s an additional way of keeping yourself safe, which is something women desperately need in the world today.
A dangerous world
In the Philippines, thousands of women suffer from different forms of abuse every day.
In 2022, based on the United States government’s 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report on the Philippines, there were around 740 victims of sex trafficking, with 490 being women and 148 being girls. They also identified 537 victims of labor trafficking, with 418 of them being women, as well.
The Lance, Colegio de San Juan de Letran’s official publication, also reported in 2022 that there was a rise in the reported abductions, rape slays, and killings of young girls, particularly in Central Luzon and Calabarzon.
In an online debate that started trending on social media a few months ago, people were asked: if you were alone in the forest, and you had to choose between being stuck with a man or a bear who would you choose?
To no surprise, most women chose the bear. In this discussion, one person wrote: “With a bear, the only fear is death.”
With women resorting to such measures nowadays just to feel safe, it’s not shocking why.
