What is stalking?

Stalking has changed over the years especially as technology has expanded as individuals can 'stalk' someone over social network pages, for example Facebook or Twitter. So what is stalking? Stalking is defined as ' The legal term for repeated harassment or other forms of invasion of a person's privacy in a manner that causes fear to its target'. This definition can be found on http://www.babylon.com/definition/stalk/English. This website also gives examples of stalking which includes physical following and unwanted contact. Stalking can take place over the Internet (Cyber stalking), or on the streets. so what is the meaning of stalking? As with most human behaviour there is no definite reasoning behind peoples behaviour because of individual differences, but what might explain stalking is obsession. Stalkers may be attracted to this type of behaviour because it is possible that they believe by doing it they are getting closer to their victim. When people talk about stalkers they tend to think that they are mentally unstable. Is this true? This is just one of the issues that stalking raises. Other issues include:

1. Is stalking as dangerous as people are lead to believe?



2. Do victims of stalking lead their followers on or are they completely innocent?



3. Are victims of stalking permanently damaged?

People generally believe that it is wrong and an invasion of space.

There are some cases of stalking that can get very dangerous and very vicious which is why the network for surviving stalking was set up. This charity is internationally known and offers support to victims and potential victims. More information on this charity can be found on http://www.nss.org.uk/. The following is a picture of a cartoon showing Cyber stalking:

When it comes to stalking I think that social networking sites do not help as it makes it easier for a victim to be followed especially when their information is online and available to look at. Also I think that it is dangerous as it can increase and when they do not get what they want what do stalkers do to their victims?