Sir Radfordin Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Am looking at the impact that Cyberstalking has had on society and thought this would be a good place to see what people thought.Anything you have to say on the subject will be useful!If you have been the victim of 'cyberstalking' and wish to share some of the basic details that would be great but don't feel you have to.Do people think that Cyberstalking is a problem and if so what should be being done about it?Is Cyberstalking any different to any other form of stalking?How far can you go in finding out about someone/comunicate with them before it would be considered stalking?If anyone would prefer to PM me a response that'll be just as good.When my work on the topic has been completed it will be made available to you good folks on request. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andsome Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Can you explain a little more fully please? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Like andsome, I don't really understand what cyberstalking is or how it is carried out. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
expertec Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 That's at least three of us Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Seems that the impact on this society is minimal :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
christmascracker Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 That's at least three of usMake that four :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Radfordin Posted March 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Interesting!Some quotes that may define it:"...For the purposes of this article we define cyberstalking as theuse of ICT in order to harass individuals. Such harassment mayinclude actions such as the transmission of offensive e-mailmessages, identity theft and damage to data or equipment. Whilsta more comprehensive definition and discussion was presented inan earlier article (Bocij & McFarlane, 2002), it is hoped that thedescription offered here is sufficient for those unfamiliar withthis field...""...Cyberstalking thus entails the same general characteristics as traditional stalking, but in being transposed into the virtual environment it is fundamentally transformed..."Taken from a couple of academic works on the subject.Sorry to go in so deep at such an early time of the morning! I wish I didn't have to write assignments on it as well but hey ho this is 'education'. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest northamuk Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 This really belongs in Debates. I will move it there in a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Oh!!!!Well, as you can see, it hasn't had much impact on any of us so far. Are you sure this phenomenon is real or is it something created by your tutors to get them out of teaching anything concrete? Is "cyberstalking" a new meaningless buzz word to define something which, as yet, doesn't exist but with a little help from its originators could well do? I am reminded of a new buzz word of a few years ago; "rage". We now have car rage, air rage, loads of other kinds of rage to define something that doesn't exist. OK "rage" exists as a psychological state defined, perhaps, as an uncontrolled loss of one's normal temperament but to tag this word with "road", "air" or anything else to suggest a defined separate condition is untenable.Regarding specifics, OK, I do get a lot of offensive emails but so do a lot of people. We tend to call it spam but I would never equate it with anything as serious as my understanding of "stalking". One other thing mentioned, identity theft, is, as far as I'm aware, quite uncommon as yet and thus only have an impact on relatively small numbers of victims. Again this doesn't fit in with my definition of stalkingRegarding damage to data or equipment. Apart from downright vandalism, what does this mean?I'm sorry if this sounds like the rantings of an old man but perhaps it's because I am an old man who doesn't have a lot of time for psycho-babble. :unsure: :unsure: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Anyone interested in the article that Sir R refers to it's hereI've not given it deep consideration but from what I have read, there appears to be some rather odd assumptions made that do nothing to dispel my thoughts that it is psycho-babble. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Radfordin Posted March 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 I think it is a mixture of the both stuff that does exist and stuff that may exist in the future. I wonder how far we have to go back before stalking of any kind wasn't an issue?Identify Theft is something that some would included in the cyberstalking area of study. ID Theft is something that may have existed prior to IT but is no doubt happening more because of it and is made simpler by it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Stalking is one of the fundamentals of survival for the "hunter gatherer" and can be seen in all its glory in any carnivore. In the human instead of repressing these desires due to lack of need, it has been modified in some by society pressures, possibly, for the purposes of obtaining gratification other than hunger but still the sense of power over the victim is an essential part of modern day human stalking whether the desire is violent (murderous) or sexual - where there is often a very violent sub-context in the disturbed mind of the stalker.A lot of this is outside of the remit of Bocij & McFarlane who seem to me to be discussing something different. That is, they have adapted the meaning of "stalker" to meet their own needs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nellie2 Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 If you put cyber-stalking in the same terms as on line harrasment then I do know of someone who had a real problem with this. I'm not in contact with her anymore and can't give you details but the situation got so bad for her that she had to really cut down her on line presence and more or less go into hiding. This was not good as a lot of her business was conducted on line.There are plenty of sites where people tell stories of problems they have had with cyber stalkers........ and I would even put paedophiles grooming children into this category too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 I don't want to get too involved here but I don't equate the "grooming" of children by paedophiles with stalking. On realising one is being stalked a sense of fear is evoked (even hunted animals are aware of this). At the time that the children are being taken in by grooming, they feel exactly the opposite of fear. They feel loved, wanted and probably many other, apparently pleasant, emotions. Fear and a sense of being stalked or in any danger only appears very late, possibly too late, in this despicable process. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nellie2 Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Hmmmm.... perhaps you are right there -pops- I saw it as stalking because I saw it as unwanted attention.... but I suppose at the time it isn't unwanted because the victims don't know any different. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Shirley_Crabtree Posted March 18, 2004 Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Stalk ( P ) Pronunciation Key (stôk)v. stalked, stalk·ing, stalks v. intr.To walk with a stiff, haughty, or angry gait: stalked off in a huff. To move threateningly or menacingly. To track prey or quarry. v. tr.To pursue by tracking stealthily. To follow or observe (a person) persistently, especially out of obsession or derangement. To go through (an area) in pursuit of prey or quarry.I don't equate the "grooming" of children by paedophiles with stalking. On realising one is being stalked a sense of fear is evoked (even hunted animals are aware of this).I have to disagree there -pops-.The very definition of stalking is that it is done with stealth and cunning.But this is going a wee bit off-topic anyway. :blink: Shirl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Radfordin Posted March 18, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 18, 2004 Interesting to see those definitions of stalking posted as this is where my discussion in the assignment had been heading. It was in 1997 that the Protection from Harassment Act came into force and stated:“A person whose course of conduct causes another to fear, on at least two occasions, that violence will be used against him is guilty of an offence if he knows or ought to know that his course of conduct will cause the other so to fear on each of those occasions.”So was it that act (which was apprently known as "The Stalking Law") the thing that made stalking not just something carried out by mammals as prey is pursued but something that was no longer a legal activity?The legal guidance as prepared by the Crown Prosecution Service provides an insight into the nature of cyber stalking suggesting that it general takes the form of threatening behaviour or unwanted advances direct at another person using the Internet and other forms of online communications.There is however the view that there is something 'new' to cyber stalking that is not seen in "real life" stalking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-pops- Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 Anything you have to say on the subject will be useful!Quote Shirley_Crabtree I have to disagree there -pops-.OK, fine. Opinions were asked for. I gave mine.There is another meaning for stalk as well. It's the stick that a flower sits on the end of :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Radfordin Posted March 19, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 Anyone wishing to comment on my thinkings so far is welcome to do so:http://www.audivwsales.eurobell.co.uk/draft.pdfIts a PDF so you will need the wonderful Adobe Reader to see it!Should you be mad enough to want to comment please do so via this thread (or email - [email protected]) I won't take your actions to be harrasing...! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nellie2 Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 Interesting document.The whole point of the internet is to talk to strangersI wouldn't quite agree with that statement..... how do we get to know anyone? You need to meet them for the first time at some point or other. On the internet it is different.... more visible perhaps..... but I don't consider I am talking to strangers here at WF even though I haven't a clue what the majority of you look or sound like.The internet is just a different form of communication and interaction, and therefore brings with it a different form of crime. Whether it is a scam of some sort or cyber stalking. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gigg Posted March 19, 2004 Report Share Posted March 19, 2004 Having been a victim of internet stalking , it is no fun , nothing if safe . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Shirley_Crabtree Posted March 20, 2004 Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 Having been a victim of internet stalking , it is no fun , nothing if safe .I wouldn't want to open any old "wounds" gigg,but maybe if you could provide a little more information regarding your experiences it might help educate us more about this phenomenom(sp?)Of course,if you'd rather not,I(we)'d understand :blush: Regards.Shirl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Radfordin Posted March 20, 2004 Author Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 nellie2: how often in real life do you meet and have conversation with complete strangers? My experience is you frequently know the name, the job, the context of most people you meet and communicate with.Put another way, how many of the people you 'know' online would you have ever met or spoken to in rea life? I am amazed at the amount some people are willing to post about their lives.It is interesting to see how in one breath people talk about wanting to be anonymous on the internet yet at the same time post details of their work/family/lives and even send crazy people (from PCA) their photo. I wonder if deep down we all want to be known?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nellie2 Posted March 20, 2004 Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 nellie2: how often in real life do you meet and have conversation with complete strangers? My experience is you frequently know the name, the job, the context of most people you meet and communicate with.I take your point, but I could talk to someone at the bus stop or in the supermarket queue and not know them from adam. They would know what I look like because they are looking at me. I don't mind anyone seeing my picture if that is what they want to look at :blink: Yes... it is all too easy to talk about personal things... I think we tend to forget that this medium is viewable to anyone. For instance I am replying to something you said, in effect I feel I am having a conversation with you..... but anyone in the world could see what I have said and what my thoughts are..... you don't quite get that in the bus queue!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moon Posted March 20, 2004 Report Share Posted March 20, 2004 but anyone in the world could see what I have said and what my thoughts are..... you don't quite get that in the bus queue!!!I live in a village. Much the same effect. :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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