by Iskra

Created on: August 28, 2010   Last Updated: September 08, 2010

Internet pests and stalkers are unfortunately a by-product of the global communications revolution.  Just imagine all the weird, obsessive and unstable individuals going about their crazy business in the United States of America today.  Then multiply that figure by the amount of countries in the world today with internet access, and ponder the disturbing reality that due to the law of averages there is a fair chance that one of them, may at some time, disturb you in the previous comfort of your home!  For instance, the Facebook user with thousands of friends, through accepting unscreened friend requests, will more than likely at some stage in their browsing history attract the unwanted attentions of an internet pest or stalker.

Anyone who uses the internet regularly, whether social networking sites like Facebook or online forums, can potentially become prey for the unhinged, angry or obsessive netizen.  The internet has given the obsessive and predatory the oxygen of publicity, or attention, that had previously escaped them in their non-web lives!  Virtually every type of internet site has a function for private messaging, or online social interaction, and as the internet nuisance thrives on the impact they can have on their targets' lives they will utilize that ability, until site moderators or administrators terminate their capability to do so.  The most dogged of online stalkers and obsessives seek to impact their target's lives, not only on the internet but in real life!  It is their ultimate fantasy in many extreme cases!

There are no universal guidelines to dealing with internet stalkers and nuisances, but in the more extreme cases where children are being threatened or preyed upon, online watchdogs such as the Child Exploitation and Online Protection centre (CEOPs) will intervene if contacted.  The social networking site Bebo has a C.E.O.Ps contact function built into it's reporting procedure.  In extreme cases of internet stalking the final option is to contact the police who in most states and countries have dedicated units who deal with this particular type of online predatory behavior.

There are commonsense practical measures that all netizens can implement to thwart the attentions of potential stalkers though in reality the average social networking site user has little to fear from posting family photographs or geographic location.  If you feel that you are receiving unwanted attention from an internet

• 1
• 2
• 3
• Next Page >>