How does cyber technology impact interactions between offenders and victims?

With the introduction of cyber technology into society, the landscape of interactions between offenders and victims was forever changed. Before this, most interactions were completed in person, such as stalking, bullying, and theft. With technology a whole new plethora of interactions have been created like cyberstalking, cyberbullying, identity theft, scams, blackmail, etc. Considering these are new types of ways to victimize people, it makes it harder to understand how exactly these situations should be handled. While some of the cases may be handled, a lot of them may go unreported. Also, the scale at which these acts can be committed is of a larger proportion. The reason that social media is so heavily used in in many people’s daily lives is because of the way it is able to connect people from around the world. Unfortunately, some of these connections are not made with the best of intentions. When an offender comes into contact with the victim, the problem is that the offender can be anywhere. Dealing with cases like these is significantly harder due to the offender possibly being in the area, as well as the anonymity that social media provides. For example, when a thief steals something in person, there can be numerous different ways for the act to be caught. This can be done through the use of surveillance footage, security guards, inventory, and detection technology. When a person decides to do this online, it makes it harder for law enforcement to apprehend these criminals. The internet provides an amount of anonymity that further compels criminals to continue their acts.

In summary, cyber technology has benefited society but also opened it up to new threats. Offenders are now able to gain access to people in ways that were not imagined before through social media. It is important that online users stay updated on vigilant when using social sites.