Sticking it to yourself?

Is your car adorned with bumper stickers? Do you ever think about how much they’re saying about you to the world around?  Back in my early years, people used to adorn their cars with many bumper stickers.  Their kids schools; their local footy club; political parties; and funny slogans were everywhere; and brands too.  It was cool to stick more than one sticker on your car!  In fact it was important!    Share your most memorable bumper stickers of the early years below – if you can remember them.  Were you ever a bumper-sticker star?

Then the fun police came along and said stickers were uncool.  Nice new cars were no longer adorned with them as people tried to look crisp and clean…

And now, it seems stickers are back.  But the growing trend for the “My Family” stick figures representing each family member stuck on cars’ back windows have security experts “worried” that we’re giving away too much information, being effectively a public dossier of exactly what goes on in your life and home, and could even tell people when you’re not going to be around.

With the My Family stickers, prospective burglars, it is said, need only glance at your car to know exactly how many adults live in your home and even whether or not you have a dog around to protect your property (that picture of kitty isn’t going to scare anyone off!).

And I guess it makes sense.  More than just the family stickers, things such as a parking permit can tell people exactly where you live or work, and stickers publicising sports teams – whether children’s or professional – could tell people when you’re likely to be away from home regularly. Got a Collingwood Magpies’ supporters badge in the window? Well, you’re likely to be at the game on a Saturday night. Proudly displaying your granddaughter’s netball team sticker? That exhibits a likelihood you’ll spend your Sundays watching her play – is that more information for the potential home invader?

Probably not. It’s certainly something many people won’t have thought about (I know I never have), but information about who we are is all around us, so we probably don’t need to start ripping labels and permits off our vehicles.

And, anyway, they can be great fun – sometimes it’s great to smartly advise “Watch out for the idiot behind me” on your bumper!

Do you have bumper stickers on your car? What do you they say? What are some of the funniest ones you’ve seen? Let us know in the comments below…