Is Facebook stalking becoming a social norm?




stalking -

Verb:
  1. Pursue or approach stealthily: "a cat stalking a bird".
  2. Harass or persecute (someone) with unwanted and obsessive attention: "the fan stalked the actor".

Facebook 'stalking' is some what becoming very popular among the British public with 88% of users admitting to following their ex's in their day-to-day lives after their unfortunate break up but why the massive obsession and should this 'stalking' be seen as acceptable as it is in modern society?

I was at work and a conversation about Facebook, I expressed my opinion which isn't very supportive of the social network but one of my colleagues said that she enjoyed 'stalking' certain people to see what they are doing etc... This got me thinking that what if she said that she just enjoyed stalking these certain people in everyday life like watching their every move and following them because the notion is exactly the same. People these days are posting status' of their whereabouts every step they take so you basically know where they are and if not you can use their locational status to track their movements anyways.

I find it worrying that I could post a status like 'In Starbucks with @.... having a lovely winter hot chocolate' then two seconds later I would a friend of mine liking that status then making her way to watch me drink it. But more worrying is that other people don't batter an eyelash, they just laugh at the 'stalking' or even encourage it!

On this level I must admit it is pretty harmless but this basic obsession could easily escalate into something much worse, like I said before 88% of users admit 'stalking' their ex which can lead to adding their new partners and posting threats. I also read in newspapers about death threats on Facebook from past lovers and this acceptance of 'stalking' is where it all stems from.

Facebook do have security measures over personal profiles but all it takes is a mutual friend of both ex partners to be trawling through Facebook with the obsessive ex because he/she finds it funny or doesn't realise the potential hatred feuding between the two partners. In my opinion it is too easy to go around if the obsession is there and people's laid back outlook on this 'stalking' is somewhat scary and unnerving for my liking.

I personally don't have Facebook but that is for different reasons but I won't start on that argument, to be honest I am waiting for the next big thing.... 'Twitter stalking'.

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Written by Jordan Laffey. Powered by Blogger.
 

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