On the topic of safety, I wanted to touch on cyber stalking. Although I have never had a personal experience with this issue, it is a subject that has been becoming more and more frequent as the year pass. Cyber stalking is defined by Wikipedia as “the use of the Internet or other electronic means to stalk or harass an individual, a group of individuals, or an organization. It may include false accusations, monitoring, making threats, identity theft, and damage to data or equipment, the solicitation of minors for sex, or gathering information in order to harass.” After reading this and a few articles to familiarize myself with the topic I realized that this is much more serious than many people give it credit for.
Cyber stalking is not just looking at someone’s facebook profile or reading their blog. It’s following and harassing someone else in every aspect of their cyber life.
I know I have been guilty of “facebook stalking” people I meet or even old friends. However harmlessly glancing at someone’s photos or status updates is completely different than knowing their every move. I think that this term is used so loosely today that everyone forgets the true and dangerous side to real cyber stalking. Stalking is a continuous process, not a onetime occurrence. The stalker watches their victim everyday through the scope of virtual media and it is scary to think about the things that they may see.
From stealing someone’s passwords to sending anonymous email to circulating rumors about the victim to manipulating pictures are all ways for cyber stalkers to harass other people. Although there is some legislation out there to protect people from this type of danger, it still remains difficult to prove. Since the topic is so new the federal courts are still trying to decide how to handle it and what the laws should require.
No comments:
Post a Comment