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Research paper on cyber stalking
Progression of technology
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Among many different factors of today’s society that has an extensive growth, technology has been the most progressive. After looking throughout the years, technology has been growing at a progressive rate. In many cases technology has provided society with a prestige purpose. In some cases however, technology can be used for negative harm including cyber-stalking. While observing this factor on a large scale, it is clear that cyber-stalking is growing and a factor in technological growth.
Before understanding the concept of cyber-stalking, understanding the extent of stalking is vital. Stalking is considered to be in animal’s instincts . Animals stalk their prey before they commence their attack. A person watching over a person, following a person may feel they are being harmless committing this act. In fact, this scenario can be ruled out to be very dangerous in the eyes of the victim that is being stalked. This can be taken very seriously and the stalker can be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. The act of following a person with stealth and pursuing this behavior is considered stalking (Maxwell, 2001). As technology has grown, stalking has progressed using different techniques including but not limited to, cyber-stalking .
Large sums of individuals do not understand what cyber-stalking entails. In the past, stalking would take place using different procedures including finding a person’s house and watching them or following a person without being welcome. As time has passed, technology has grown at a rapid rate. The birth of the internet has caused many drastic changes to the world. Some have a very negative effect on society including cyber-stalking. Without the need to follow a person around, a sta...
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... that has constituted statutes towards cyber-stalking. States including Michigan have laws that protect victims of cyber-bullies. These statutes are for victims being online harassed or stalked that end up with emotional stress or effect victims lives as a whole (Ellison & Akdeniz, 1998). Laws are trying to be passed every day.
It is justified to state that cyber-stalking is increasing every day. There are many different ways cyber-stalkers are getting to their victims and it is getting more dangerous. Alternative methods include keeping personal information away from the internet can reduce harm from cyber-stalkers. Matters including passing more laws strictly enforcing cyber-stalking should be placed to help the cause. Cyber-stalkers can cause stress as well as harm to victims. Without the change in our society and laws, cyber-stalking will continue to rise.
In conclusion we find that cyberstalking is one of the most dangerous forms of stalking. People who feel safer harming others from far away use this method the most, and like regular stalking it can cause serious damage.
Stalking has been a label for a long-term pattern of persistent pursuit and intrusive behavior directed by one person toward another (Logan & Cole, 2007). It is a term that has been around since the late 1980’s coming about to describe the persistent pursuit of celebrities and today is used to describe all manner of unwanted following, approaching, and harassing behaviors directed toward any individual (Logan & Cole, 2007). Some of the most common forms of stalking are repeated phone calls, visiting home or the work place, sending unwanted gifts, emails, letters, or following the victim.
Stewart, B., Boyd, M., & Nunnally, D. (2002). STALKING THE STALKER. People, 58(10), 74. Retrieved February 20, 2012, from EBSCOhost
“Stalking is conservatively defined as "a course of conduct directed at a specific person that involves repeated (two or more occasions) visual or physical proximity, nonconsensual communication, or verbal, written, or implied threats, or a combination thereof, that would cause a reasonable person fear." [1] Stalking behaviors also may include persistent patterns of leaving or sending the victim unwanted items or presents that may range from seemingly romantic to bizarre, following or laying in wait for the victim, damaging or threatening to damage the victim's property, defaming the victim's character, or harassing the victim via the Internet by posting personal information o...
When people hear the word stalking, they mainly associate the term with a stranger who follows around someone. However, most stalkers are former friends or partners of their victims. Stalking is a criminal activity of someone harassing or threatening another person repeatedly. About 90% of stalkers are men and 80% of victims are women, but 8% of men and 2% of women have been stalked in their lifetime. However, stalking is extremely difficult to prove because it is a case of “he said, she said”. Therefore, stalking is sometimes overlooked. There are many types of stalkers with crazy motivations, outrageous personalities and behaviors and they have forever changed the lives of their victims.
Cyber stalking is a very serious form of online harassment. It involves sending messages to a recipient excessively. Cyber Stalking is usually an obsession of some sort that is fueled by hatred or desire. In my opinion Cyber stalkers are usually trying to control their victims and they will do this by attacking friends and family members.
...veryday, it may be a friend or a complete stranger. Reality is that everyone should always be aware of their surroundings even with the people they might think are the closest to them. Stalkers suffer from all sorts of problems from substance abuse, depression, personality disorders, ignored, abused, cheated on, emotionally hurt all these reasons vary on why some humans make the choice to stalk a victim. Is there really a stalker out there stalking someone because of what they did to them in the past? Is there someone lurking in the shadows following their victim every move and waiting for a chance to intrude? Stalking is a serious crime and is seen as an illness, either they should be treated for it or be kept in a isolated area. People should know who they trust and know who they let into their lives before they become a victim of such a serious crime as stalking.
There have been many examples of cyberstalking crossing over in to real life stalking. And those users who have been victims of cyberstalking, tell a similar story, that no one took the harassment serious until it became real life stalking. Cyberstalking can be a devastating experience for a person online. But in cyberspace people say things like “well just turn off your computer” and “ you can’t be hurt on the Internet, it’s just words”. (Laughren, 1998, p.1) The online stalking is just as frightening and distressing as off-line stalking, and just as illegal.
The first step would be identifying that a cyber-stalking crime has occurred. Cyber stalking can be defined as “the use of the Internet, email or other electronic communications to stalk, and generally refers to a pattern of threatening or malicious behaviors.”
2.1 Citizen’s knowledge and experience of stalking Citizen’s knowledge and experience of stalking is likely to affect their perception towards ‘stalking’. In this study, Winnie, a 23-year-old student, is invited to share her opinion towards stalking. When asking what is the definition of stalking, Winnie suggests that stalking include “a series of behaviors which cause someone to feel being disturbed”. She lists some behaviors which regard as stalking like stalking by telephone, making unwelcome visits, collecting debts or sending unwanted gifts to someone. She thinks wait outside the victim’s home or workplace, following them, watching or videotaping their daily life are common stalking involved with family members and intimate partners.
Stalking someone online provides more ways of following potential victims: unwanted monitoring, sending repeated emails/threats, impersonating a victim, among other things. With traditional stalking offenders had to stick to following their victims around. Usually in the physical realm stalkers know their victims and have personal relationships, whereas online stalkers may not know the victim in the real world. However, there are some key behaviors that link cyberstalking and physical stalking. Both types of stalking can cause physical and mental harm to the victims such as stress, anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts. Stalkers online and offline can make credible threats meaning that just because someone says they want to hurt you in an email doesn’t make it any less credible then them calling you on the phone. Finally, cyberstalkers share the same motivations as offline stalkers in that they generally want to make people
Understanding the process of cyberstalking and how it affects a person that has been under attack in this manner can be irrational, yet effective by causing the victim to lose their privacy or feel harass in any way. “Cyberstalking is an escalated form of online harassment directed at a specific person that causes substantial emotional distress and serves no legitimate purpose. The action is to annoy, alarm, and emotionally abuse another person.” (Hitchcock, J. A. 2003.) Concerning this matter of being attack and how cyberstalking has increased as technology has evolved can be overwhelming by those that are suffering thought this ordeal.
All around the United States, the prevalence of cyberbullying ranges from 10-40% of people who get bullied through electronics. Furthermore, this is a problem caused by kids, teens, and adults who target one another online by repeating harmful threats and harassments. This conflict negatively impacts the victims’ life which is why anyone who cyberbullies should pay the consequences and be prosecuted.
Violence against women is not always physical. With the continuing advancements in technology, cyber stalking is an increasing way for predators to attack women. “Cyber stalking is the use of the Internet or other electronic means to stalk someone which may be a computer crime or harassment.” The anonymity of interacting with someone online makes it very easy to stalk someone without even leaving home. Cyber stalkers have a sense of security that since they are not seen, they will not be identified. It is estimated that over 75% of victims are women. This estimated figure is lower than the actual number because a large majority of cyber stalking goes unreported.
Posting personal information can also make it easier to be stalked. To stalk means to pursue by tracking. The study from Women's Aid and the Network to Survive Stalking, warns that Smartphones are being targete...