The Explosion of Cyberstalking

The Explosion of Cyberstalking

By: Eric Lenhart

                After sitting in class and talking about the differences between cyberstalking and regular stalking, it really got me thinking. Whenever you're on social media you are way more susceptible to stalking than in ftf. I have read so many heartbreaking articles of how cyberbullying and stalking have caused emotional pains and even death.  Some tips need to be unearthed to teach people how to stay out of the crosshairs of a cyberbully or troll. The article I read is from The Guardian newspaper in the United Kingdom and is titled "Cyberstalking Now More Common Than Face-to-Face Stalking" which you can find here http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2011/apr/08/cyberstalking-study-victims-men . Its main theme is the inescapable fact that the current age of technological innovation has enabled a new breed of harassment previously unseen by many authorities who want to eradicate it. Cyberstalkers and cyberbullies have taken advantage of social media outlets such as Facebook and made them a virtual battleground between the harassed and their perpetrators. Email is flooded with spam and harassing emails from random people. Mobile phones have also given stalkers an easy avenue to reach their victims. It's easier than ever for these people to get what their after.

                Social media Is easily the quickest and surest way for a stalker to find their target and follow their lives. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram make it extremely easier for people to be stalked and harassed. Even if the target knows that someone is trying to stalk them, the stalker can just create a new account under a fake name and follow or friend request whoever they want. Perhaps the most telling quote from the article is this: "There have been threats to kill. They give the impression that they know where their victims live and can get at them physically. There is a lot of damage to or loss of reputation, people being compromised by false allegations." In my experience this happens all the time on social media, especially among high schoolers. Some of them are just keyboard warriors who don't mean a word of what they say, but others are serious and have malicious intent. The article states that teenagers report social media as the place where they will most likely  be harassed. The scary thing is it can happen to anyone (40% of victims are adult men, according to the reported study). 37% of men are harassed by complete strangers, while that's true for only 23% of women.

                The consequences of these actions are multiple-pronged. There can be physical harm, mental distress, damage to reputation, etc. According to the article, many victims reported strong symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. While these results are based off of a study done in the UK, it can be strongly assumed that similar results would appear in the US. With the research and treatment of mental health (and its disorders) in America already lacking, this must be taken seriously. I've seen firsthand how this harassment affects people and this was when I was in high school (2008-2012) . Kids cry, start fights and get suspended all over some beef on Facebook or Twitter. It's obvious this senselessness is all expedited by social media.

                Overall, I believe the author did a good job of presenting the topic with a big-picture approach and summarizing the key points. She could have use more facts and examples to more clearly and strongly portray the problem and its scale. Harassment and cyberstalking are real problems in today's society that need more attention. Whether that includes new legislation or not, this is something that needs to be stopped now because as technology continues to evolve, the stakes are only going to get higher.  Some tips I would share to stay out of the cross hairs of cyber bullying and trolls are to keep private profiles, think before you post anything, and to not trust everything you read online especially from strangers.