Dell heiress explains why she quit social media amid security fears

‘I would advise younger people new to social media to be wary’

Alexa Dell attends WCRF's 'An Unforgettable Evening' Presented by Saks Fifth Avenue on February 27, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for WCRF)

The rapid growth of social media has allowed the world to become more connected than ever before.

However, our modern culture of oversharing on the internet could also have dangerous repercussions.

Six years ago, heiress Alexa Dell briefly quit social media over security fears for her and her family.

She has now spoken out about what happened and has urged caution for young people who frequent social media regularly.

Alexa is the 24-year-old daughter of Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Technologies.

Six years ago, Alexa posted a seemingly harmless photo of her brother Zachary on Instagram, showing him sitting on a private jet en route to Fiji with a table of food in front of him.

Shortly afterwards, the photo began circulating on the Rich Kids of Instagram Tumblr site.

The picture went viral, which led to Alexa and Zachary both disabling their social media accounts a week later.

Alexa has spoken about how the attention she received for the photo completely took her aback.

“That obviously took me completely by surprise. I didn’t even realise that account, or that blog-Tumblr-thing, was a thing,” she told Business Insider.

“It’s unfortunate because it obviously put my family at risk and our safety.

“It’s a shame that there are people out there who just are having fun exploiting others.”

When news broke that Alexa and Zach had quit social media, it was revealed by Bloomberg Business Week that Alexa often posted on Twitter with her GPS location settings enabled.

At the time, Alexa’s entrepreneurial father hadn’t thought to monitor the social media accounts of his children, despite spending $2.7 million (£1.9 million) a year on his family’s security as of 2012 as stated by proxy statements filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Some speculated that Alexa had chosen to take a step back from social media predominantly over worries that her family become targets for kidnapping.

Alexa returned to social media shortly after the incident and is urging people to tread with caution when posting about their lives online.

“I would advise younger people new to social media to be wary… everyone’s not so nice,” she said.

“If you think you meant something in a fun and lighthearted kind of context, someone may spin that and take it from you."