Cyber stalking/ Cyber Harassment

How have the changes in technology affected the definitions of appropriate and inappropriate behavior?

While technology has become a huge part of our society as the world continues to evolve and as the world evolves so does technology. Technology has altered a person’s life in different ways the way we communicate and interact with one another on a daily basis making life more easier and convenient. We use technology in the workplace, at school and in the comfort of our homes which is complex with different work tasks and other interactions such as meetings and emails that are exchanged for the different tasks presented on a daily basis. Cyber harassment is defined as ,”involves engaging in an act or behavior that torments, annoys, terrorizes, offends or threatens an individual via email, instant messages, or other means with the intention of harming that person.” But there are also personal platforms that are used when not doing work or school related activities such as tweeter, instagram and snapchat which can lead to threats and harassment. While people on the internet can be cruel and give cruel opinions that can turn into a form of bully especially for younger kids that have different social media platforms and even if the person that is conducting inappropriate behavior does not want to be able to be traced and get in trouble for the act they can always make a fake account making it hard to know who is acting and conducting themselves inappropriately. Also with social media cyber stalking is so easy to accomplish because some accounts are private while others are public to the world for anyone to be able to view the profile, which some people put their locations online when they go to different locations leaving room for danger to be presented. Technology has definitely played a role in users losing sight of what is appropriate and what is inappropriate deviant behaviors while using the internet.

Hazelwood, S. D., & Koon-Magnin, S. (2013, December 13). Cyber Stalking and Cyber Harassment Legislation in the United States: A Qualitative Analysis . University Of South Alabama, USA.