Thursday, June 21, 2012

What/who is Cyberstalking -




Welcome back to my world - first let me apologize about the font - it changes...???

Let’s take a moment to talk about an important current issue going on all over the world – one that may happen to any of us at any time – cyber stalking. This can be done by anyone - people we may know or may not know.

In a recent article I read  -   More than one million women and 370,000 men are stalked annually in the United States. -  How scary does this sound!! That is just here in the US. This does not include any place else in the world...

So what is cyber stalking? What do people mean when the say I am being cyber stalked?  

The definition below is the most complete I found, although I will admit I did not look that long. It is from Wikipedia – ok not the most wonderful source at times… or authoritative but still can be very informative…..

cyberstalking is 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, damage to data or equipment, the solicitation of minors for sex, or gathering information in order to harass. Cyberstalking is different from spatial or offline stalking. However, it sometimes leads to it, or is accompanied by it.[2]

Definitions
Further information: Stalking

Stalking is a continuous process, consisting of a series of actions, each of which may be entirely legal in itself. Technology ethics professor Lambèr Royakkers writes that:

"Stalking is a form of mental assault, in which the perpetrator repeatedly, unwantedly, and disruptively breaks into the life-world of the victim, with whom he has no relationship (or no longer has), with motives that are directly or indirectly traceable to the affective sphere. Moreover, the separated acts that make up the intrusion cannot by themselves cause the mental abuse, but do taken together (cumulative effect)."[3]

CyberAngels has written about how to identify cyberstalking:

When identifying cyberstalking "in the field," and particularly when considering whether to report it to any kind of legal authority, the following features or combination of features can be considered to characterize a true stalking situation: malice, premeditation, repetition, distress, obsession, vendetta, no legitimate purpose, personally directed, disregarded warnings to stop, harassment, and threats.[4]

So after reading this and thinking about it – I do hope none of you are being cyberstalked…  (it can be unsettling in the least) 

So before I close – I will just say to all who read this – 

PLEASE do not cyber stalk me. If you are currently, please cease this behavior immediately. You must have better and more constructive things to do with your time… 

It is not your right to know what I am doing or to be included in any intimate part of my life or know details I do not tell you myself. It is not your right to invade my life or privacy. It is not your right to be part of my life in any way. If I wanted you in my life I would included you and invite you into my inner circle myself and openly share with you so you would not have to find information out covertly, wasting hours of your time to find out - what...?? I saw an eagle...OOOOoooo... big time stuff there!

I urge those reading to sign up for Google alerts to be notified when you are searched as a starting place. It is a bit strange when notifications come through, but you know ... I have received a few just today... so am I being cyber stalked?? 



To those of you who are reading this who are not cyber stalking me but are simply regular readers - thanks for reading and be weary. I hope you come back again soon. You come from all over the world. I enjoy reading other blogs and I know most of those who stop by here are just reading my blog then moving onto the next, not cyber stalking ... 





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