Cyberstalking, it’s Impacts and Why it Happens

Introduction
As we all know, the internet can be a dangerous place. There are scams and viruses around every corner. One of the most recognizable faces of this danger is the infamous hacker, but being hacked isn’t the only way someone can be victimized on the internet. Social media has given rise to cyberstalking, and it is deceptively dangerous.
Cyberstalking, if left unchecked, can turn into physical stalking if the assailant becomes bold enough. Even if the cyberstalker never interacts with the victim in person, they can still negatively impact their life through other means, such as blackmail. This can not only affect the victim’s job opportunities, but also their mental health. Cyberstalking causes real fear in the victim and should be taken as seriously as other forms of stalking.
Unfortunately, due to its online nature, many people don’t take cyberstalking seriously as a crime. Even people working for law enforcement can be guilty of this, so the purpose of this paper is to go over cyberstalking, why it can be dangerous, and possible explanations on why someone might choose to cyberstalk.
Methods
I will be using multiple sources on this paper and be sharing many different ideas from different researchers. I will try to keep most of the sources official, but I may use a few from unofficial sites when warranted. These sources will talk about both online and offline stalking, but I will mostly be focusing on online stalking for the purposes of this paper.
Why it happens
People cyberstalk for a variety of reasons. Sometimes cyberstalking can be used as intimidation, sometimes it is meant to get closer to the victim, and other times it may be the result of untreated mental illness. There are many reasons someone might cyberstalk another person, and to make matters worse it can be exceptionally easy to do so. Someone can intimidate another person without even stepping foot out of their own home, or keep track of them without having to physically follow them around.
Undiagnosed mental illness, possessiveness or intimidation are only just a few reasons someone might cyberstalk another person, and the fact that it can be easy to get away with the crime is an added bonus. Most people have access to some sort of technology, and even if the stalker doesn’t own a phone or computer they can just use one in a public place, such as a library. It can also be more impersonal than committing a crime in person, so many cyberstalkers may justify their behavior as being ‘not that bad.’ The ability to dissociate oneself from their online persona is a real and documented phenomena, and could be one of the many reasons cyberstalking occurs at alarming rates.
Effect on Victims
While nobody deserves to be stalked or harassed online or in person, the fact that many victims share a lot of personal information online such as their address, phone number and email may encourage cyberstalkers. But even if the victim’s online behavior has made themselves more at risk to cyberstalking, that doesn’t mean their suffering should be overlooked. Not only can cyberstalking have a negative effect on the victims mental health, but it can make it harder for the victim to find or keep a job, and can even lead to crimes that happen in person, such as murder in extreme cases.
Conclusion
Cyberstalking is a crime that causes distress in its victims, just like physical stalking. It is important to be aware of cyberstalking and its impacts so that people can take steps to protect themselves, their information and seek support from the law. It is also important that law enforcement take cyberstalking seriously, as not only can it lead to physical stalking, but it can negatively affect the victim even without physical contact or proximity to the stalker.


Sources
Kuar, Puneet. Dhir, Amandeep. Tandon, Anushree. Alzeiby, Ebtesam. Abohassan, Abeer. “A systematic literature review on cyberstalking. An analysis of past achievements and future promises.” Technological Forecasting and Social Change. February 2021.
Lowrey, Paul Benjamin. Zhang, Jun. Wang, Chuang. Wu, Tailai. “Understanding and predicting cyberstalking in social media: Integrating theoretical perspectives on shame, neutralization, self-control, rational choice and social learning.” Journal of the Association for Information Systems Theory Development Workshop. December 2013.