CYBER-STALKING: THE DANGERS

The majority of the population now that use social networking websites including  Facebook, Twitter, Tumbler, MySpace…, view them as a way to have harmless communications, interactions, and connection with relatives, friends, business associates, and new and old online acquaintances (the contemporary version of the pen-pal). Social networking websites let an individual maintain contact with family and friends, that may reside across the country or the world, without the cost and aggravation of long distance telephone calls and basic mail (also referred to as snail-mail). They can share thoughts, pictures and albums, videos, instant messaging, and e-mails. These websites also allow a person to interact in groups that share their same interests, find a prospective companion, and to meet people from around the globe, without the expense of travel. Social networking is like a virtual community for many people, giving them supportive interaction, entertainment, fun, and a place of belonging. But like the physical world, there is a dark side to these virtual communities, with unanticipated dangers that can turn out to be very real and very frightening. Unfortunately, a good number of patrons of social networking websites either do not comprehend these dangers or ignore them all together, putting themselves and others in jeopardy, one of these risks is cyber-stalking.

Much like stalking in the physical world, you can find various types of cyber stalking on the World Wide Web. These behaviors can escalate into very real physical dangers, which can put the victim and those close to the victim in danger. “Stalking refers to harassing or threatening behavior that is engaged in repeatedly. Such harassment can be either physical stalking or cyberstalking” (Are You Being Stalked? https://www.privacyrights.org/are-you-being-stalked.) Stalking in the corporeal world usually begins when someone becomes infatuated or wants to cause harm to another individual that they have known in the past or someone that is a total stranger that they have crossed paths with. The same description is true in the social networking world on the Web; the victim of cyberstalking may or may not know the person who is following them over the Web. The stalker may be someone the victim knew in the past, like a classmate, a past love or even a friend. They also may be a complete stranger that has found them through their interaction on a social networking website and its various connections including online groups, pages, chat rooms, and walls. Stalking can have many motivations including obsession, hatred, discrimination, retribution, predatory behaviors (including pedophilia and other sexual deviance), harassment, and straightforward bullying. Stalkers can be male and female, young and old, and of various ethnic and religious backgrounds. A victim of stalking can be male or female, young and old, Jaishanker and Uma Sankary state: “…a victim may be a member of a targeted minority group or special group” (Jaishanker, K. and Uma Sankary, V., Cyber Stalking: A Global Menace in the Information Super Highway).

Obsessive stalking can be based on delusional sexual attraction or perceived friendship. The obsessive stalker can be someone that the victim has rejected as a friend or a suitor in the past, either in the real world or online. The stalker sees this rejection as unacceptable and a personal insult. Not wanting to terminate the connection to the victim, the stalker will force them self into the victims life. The stalker wants the victim to recognize the importance of their perceived ongoing relationship. Jaishanker and Uma Sankary state: “Their behavior is characterized by a mixture of revenge and desire for reconciliation” (Jaishanker, K. and Uma Sankary, V., Cyber Stalking: A Global Menace in the Information Super Highway)). The obsessive stalker also can be someone that has become fixated on another person that they have never met before or only interacted with in passing. They will perceive a connection of affection with the victim, when there is none. Even if the victim rejects them, they will believe this person is in love with them or that they are their best friend.

A stalker can be a sexual predator, looking for innocent victims male and female, adult and adolescent. “They are motivated purely by the desire for sexual gratification and power over their victim” (Types of Stalkers and Stalking Patterns, Sexual Harassment Support, http://www.sexualharassmentsupport.org/TypesofStalkers.html.) They will use social networking websites to find their victim or victims. The predatory stalker may get on the victim’s friends list, slowly befriending them over time, trying to gain their total trust.  In some cases the stalker will try to be the center of attention and interaction when the victim is online, in other cases they may interact more in the background, studying the victim. Like the obsessive stalker, the predatory stalker will try slowly to get the victims information including email address, phone numbers (home, cell phone, and work), physical address, where they work, and if possible other places the victim goes, either through the victim themselves or through their friends. In the case of predatory stalkers that are pedophiles that are looking for children, they will pretend to be other adolescents looking for friends online, having a fictitious profile. They may also pretend to be an adult that wants someone to mentor, making the adolescent feel important and comfortable with their friendship. The predatory stalker will get the victim to meet them somewhere, at this point the cyber stalking or cyber hunting in this case, has become a physical danger, and has entered into the physical world, it no longer is behind the safety of a computer screen. Though, this type of stalking is the least common, it can be the scariest and scar the victims for life emotionally and physically.

Cyber bullying, one of the most common forms of cyber stalking, can include psychological intimidation and personal conflicts. “Bullying is aggressive behavior that is intentional, repeated over time, and involves an imbalance of power or strength”(Bullying and Cyber Bullying, InSafe, http://old.saferinternet.org/ww/en/pub/insafe/safety_issues/faqs/bullying.) The victims of bullying and cyber bullying can be adult and adolescent. The bullying may have started at the victim’s school, college, or place of employment. Its motivations can also be sexist, racist or homophobic, which is also listed as a cyber-hate crime. The harassment can include gossip and rumors, hate speech, and the sharing of unwanted pictures and videos to embarrass the victim. Though, the victim may get threats of bodily harm and even death from their stalkers, the biggest risk to some victims of cyber bullying is themselves through the form of suicide. On September 22, 2010 “…18-year-old Rutgers University freshman Tyler Clementi jumped from the George Washington Bridge after his room-mate, 18-year-old Dharun Ravi, and an accomplice, 18-year-old Molly Wei, allegedly streamed a videotape of Clementi engaging in sexual activities with another male on the internet. Clementi left an ominous and heartbreaking goodbye message on his Facebook profile before leaping to his death; his body was recovered several days later. Ravi and Wei have since been charged with invasion of privacy, jailed, and released on bail” (Three Young Men, Three Suicides, Three Cases Of Anti-Gay Bullying http://www.wgnradio.com/news/top/ktxl-news-gayyouthsuicides0930.) Like Tyler Clementi, victims of bullying (physical or online) can feel so embarrassed by the harassment, and the feeling of being a victim, they may not get help until it is too late.

Many stalkers and cyber stalkers have some type of mental illness or psychological problem, and may have been abused in some way themselves in the past. The predatory stalker may be repeating this pattern of abuse on to their victim. Obsessive stalkers usually lack basic social skills to interact with the people around them, so they become obsessed with someone who is unattainable, thinking that somehow this will change in time. That their victim will become their friend or true love, this fantasy is very real to them. In the case of the stalker who is a bully, the victim is always someone the stalker sees as a threat or someone that has a perceived weakness.  The effects of stalking in all its forms, can last a lifetime for its victims and their family and friends. National Center For Victims Of Crime states: “Victims of cyber stalking often experience psychological trauma, as well as physical and emotional reactions as a result of their victimization. Some of these effects may include: changes in sleeping and eating patterns, nightmares, hyper-vigilance, anxiety, helplessness, fear for safety, and shock and disbelief” (National Center For Victims Of Crime, http://www.victimsofcrime.org/our-programs/stalking-resource-center.) In the case of a victim being physically assaulted, murdered, or committing suicide, the healing process may never come.

A person can never truly stop stalking or cyber stalking, but they can take precautions when social networking. Never give too much private information about yourself in your profile and never put photographs up that may show an address, license plate, or other indicators of where you are. If you are going out somewhere, never put this information on your profile, this gives a potential stalker your location. Always keep your profile set on “private”, this makes it harder for a stalker to get into your information and the information of people on your friends list. This protects not only you but everyone in your social networking circle. Never accept a friend request from a total stranger, though they may be harmless just looking for social interaction, you can never be sure. Always use caution when joining online groups, organizations, and fan sites and if an online poll or quiz site asked for too much information avoid them. Children and adults should be educated not to ever be lured out somewhere to meet a stranger; this is the most dangerous part of cyber stalking, where it becomes a potential physical threat. Even if you take all these precautions, you may still become a victim of cyber stalking. “The reality is that both cyber stalking and physical stalking can lead to a physical attack. Always get help quickly, document all stalking incidents and take precautions to protect yourself” (Are You Being Stalked? https://www.privacyrights.org/are-you-being-stalked.)