How does cyber technology impact interactions between offenders and victims?

The internet opens countless doors for offenders to continuously harass their victims. Cyber technology has escalated unwanted interactions between victims and perpetrators since everything is essentially done through the screen and perpetrators can have access to their victims at any time of any day. These offenders have the ability to find the people they harass or stalk in real-life solely on the internet. They are able to see what they do, who they are in contact with, where they are, and where they can be found at any point in time. With the growing influence of social media apps, it has become even easier to find personal information about people because they give it out for the world to see. Even more harrowing is the complete lack of control victims have against their offenders online. There is no way for victims to truly break off all contact with their offenders because of the advancements in cyber technology. For example, offenders can stalk social media stories and posts to see if their victims are home alone or if they are in an easily approachable setting. Another example is if an offender were to leak explicit photos of their victims without their consent. This could harm the victim even more by damaging their reputation and exposing them to other dangerous people online. More extreme cases include offenders hacking their victims’ computer screens, catfishing victims online in order to convince them to meet up in person, and finding their victims’ work and home locations, and showing up unannounced. Although there have been newly created laws and regulations that protect victims from being tormented and harassed online by offenders both known and unknown, there is still much work needed to be done to protect victims online. As offenders conspire more ways to commit inappropriate and unlawful behavior on the internet, they must be met by comprehensive legal consequences.