Cyberstalking

By now, most people have heard of cyberbullying, where a person is bullied over the internet, through email, social media sites, etc. This is a huge problem with teenagers, some of the victims going so far as to commit suicide from this type of bullying. Due to the suicides, cyberbullying has gained attention and legitmacy, there is even a book on sale called the Cyberbully Survival Guide geared toward parents so that they can recognize the signs and know if their child is a victim of cyberbullying. http://www.survivorsinaction.com/cyberbully_survival_guide.htm

However, I was just watching Good Morning America today and they had a small segment on cyberstalking. Not cyberbullying, cyberstalking. For some reason, I have never thought of this before. Unlike cyberbullying, this is a problem that affects adults as well, and from the testimonies I saw about it, both males and females. Cyberstalking is a serious problem that can be and should be reported to the police, but is often not reported since it does not seem like a serious issue to some. Even now, the internet is still not taken seriously as a form of communication or interaction. Of course, people use it everyday for communication, but people still believe this is a lower form of communication because it is impersonal. But as we have seen from cyberbullying, the consequences of internet interactions are very real.

Cyberstalking should also be considered a serious problem because it can easily lead to physical stalking. People give up so much personal information online these days that it is so easy for a cyberstalker to find a phone number or address and move off the internet and harass in person. I believe this issue should be made more public to promote more awareness on the importance of internet privacy. Social media sites especially will push for people to give up their privacy more and more and many people do not realize the problems this can cause. Cyberstalking is just one of the many problems that can come from over-sharing online. So please people, think twice before you give any of your personal information online!