SOCIAL MEDIA- A means to Socialize or Stalk?
Don’t use social media to impress people; use it to impact people.
-Dave Willis
Thinking about my life without even an hour of social media is very hard. It has dwelled in the lives of almost each and every millennial and is now rapidly becoming part of each and every person’s life. The importance of pictures has increased- now it’s not just to be part of a photo album and cherish the memories, but to attain more and more likes and comments. Every picture needs to have the perfect angle with perfect lighting, we waste hours to edit that one picture. But are you sure that only the people you know are able to see what you post?
Social Media — creating connections or stalkers?
Social media has become a huge part of our lives. It is providing many job opportunities and ways to make money, raising awareness about crucial subjects. Most importantly, it makes communication much easier. Just imagine yourself without social media right now during this time of Coronavirus. To be honest, it’s the only thing keeping me sane in these times. Many of us might think of social media as a blessing and why not? It has helped us bridge the distance. It will not be wrong to say that in this digital era, social networks have easily become one of the most dominant methods of communication.
While a wider reach can be great for brands and professional communicators, it also means that mistakes are amplified and can blow up to a full-scale crisis overnight. Whether you want it or not, a tweet can be shared with millions of people in an instant, a video can go viral on Facebook or YouTube in just minutes. This might lead to an immense amount of stalking, cyberbullying and trolling.
Is Social Media helping in getting the stalkers closer?
You get a haircut, cook a meal, go for a vacation, attend a party; almost all your followers and friends on social media platforms get to know of it within a few minutes. People are obsessed with the idea of showcasing their day to day routine and activities on social media. This may be inspiring, mentally relaxing, and fun for many people, but this also invites many stalkers, whose main motive is to harass and persecute someone with unwanted attention.
This may lead to many problems like insecurities, unhealthy obsession, theft, fraud, sexual abuse and it can lead to mental disturbance. Many apps let people know of one’s location- such as Snapchat, Google Maps, etc.- contacts, connections, and for someone with an evil intention, this information is priceless.
How does stalking make daily life terrifying?
Whether in person or on the Internet, being stalked is a horrifying and isolating experience. For many, what started as a friendly conversation ends in a miserable experience due to stalking. Social media is a tool, like anything else. You can use it to stay connected with your friends, but you can also use it to make someone’s life miserable.
Social media enables an unprecedented amount of access to people’s photos, whereabouts, working experience, interests and a lot of other things. On social sites, you can send one compromising photo to thousands of people at once, greatly amplifying the threat of blackmail and violence.
What consequences can stalking lead to?
You must have seen many people putting up stories to report an account because they might be using pictures or content that does not belong to them. This is one form of cyber theft and there are many other ways such as cyberstalking, botnets, phishing, etc. through which this takes place. Many social media sites have apps that ask for permission to access your account information like contacts, photos, etc. before you can install them. This may lead to hackers stealing your details to commit fraud like identity theft and cyber theft.
Before signing into any social media site, we are made to answer various questions such as our full name, date of birth, hometown, interests, nature of work, and home or office addresses. Criminals can easily manipulate these details to commit fraud. A person with evil thoughts can use one’s personal information to impersonate, use the savings in the bank account, commit other illegal activities without getting caught because they are using someone else’s identity. Protecting this information just as you would protect your SSN and driver’s license number is one effective method of identity theft prevention.
You might have seen many people posting offensive pictures and comments all of the sudden, unlike they ever did. This too may be a result of their accounts getting hacked. This puts the person into a very vulnerable and traumatized state as the hacker has access to a lot of personal data. Actively participating in social media sites puts one at a higher risk of identity theft simply because more people will “see” you and will have access to your details. It is important to be cautious about how much information you share (or overshare) on your accounts. Controlling how this information is used is the key to protecting yourself against identity theft and fraud.
Although social media is a great place to be on as it helps us connect and expand our horizons, the platform should be used wisely within a few restrictions. Stalking can turn out to be a very traumatic experience for someone.
We must be responsible social media users and be mindful of keeping our personal details private and secure. We must also be conscious of what we choose to post or write on our handles and be aware of the content we consume because many posts might unknowingly have a negative impact on us. Researching about an app before we give them our personal information is essential. It is up to us to understand both, the pros and cons of social media, and handle it in a way that ensures it remains a platform that is safe for everyone.
