9 Signs You Are A Cyberstalker

Cyberstalking, in simpler words, is basically online stalking. It often involves consistent harassment, threats, data destruction, identity theft, and most commonly monitoring. A main advantage of the Internet for cyber stalkers is that it affords the convenience of anonymity. This form of modern stalking can take its toll on its victims and the consequences can be far more frightening than one can imagine. Psychological distress is known to be one of the most serious ramifications of cyberstalking for the victims. Although this form of harassment has many levels, varying from harmless to felonious, the common denominator is that no one likes it—exclusive of the cyber stalkers, of course. They seem to enjoy it. The “non-toxic” type of cyberstalking is less likely to cause any harm to either party. But the worst case scenario of cyberstalking is that it could spawn a string of horrible and irreversible consequences.

So now let’s take a look at ourselves and determine if we are a cyberstalker or just how far away are you from being a cyberstalker. Is your cyberstalking habit completely harmless and is under control? Let’s be real here. We have all done a little online stalking at some point in our lives. Creeping up on our cousins’ Facebook profiles, ex-boyfriends and girlfriends’ Instagram accounts, and even the Twitter profile of the random guy you met at a party. Hey, what they don’t know won’t hurt them, right? That’s what we think. But how much is too much? How far is too far? How much curiosity is cyberstalking? Are you entirely certain that you are not invading someone’s privacy? Here are some signs that indicate you are a potential cyber stalker. A wee bit too much of curiosity can definitely lead you to cyberstalking. Well, here are some signs that could indicate that you are a a cyber stalker.

1. You Are Addicted To Them

“99% of my battery goes to looking through your social media account. Yes, you’re a cyberstalker.”

You can’t go a day without checking someone’s SNS profile. Have you developed some sort of a ritual—a routine of checking that person’s profile every single day without fail even when you know they might have not updated it? Worse. Do you check their profiles every hour? Or even more frequently than that?

2. You Have A Fake Identity

“I’ve got my stalker serial killer mask on now. This is spooky.”

Do you do your continual stalking anonymously or with a fake identity? For instance, do you create dummy accounts on Facebook just so that this person would accept your friend request? Well, there’s nothing more assuring than this to allude to the fact that you are treading on the threshold of cyberstalking.

3. You Follow Them

“And we thought this Follow button was innocent enough?”

Do you keep requesting to follow them on their profiles in spite of refusals by the person? Oh, boy. You could be one of those tireless and stubborn stalkers who don’t take turndowns too well.

4. You Do Not Care About Their Feelings

“I don’t care about conversations, I just want to follow and stalk you with these creepy eyes.”

You neither care about how they feel about having a stalker tailing them nor do you want to have an appropriate conversation with them. Little attention is given to the attempt of having some sort of communication with the particular person. You simply just want to stalk them and you have little interest in actually letting the person know about yourself and befriending them. More stalking, less talking.

5. You Message Them Excessively

“Now with the use of online instant texts, I’ll just message you a million times till you reply.”

You send them unwanted messages even if you never receive any reply or you keep harassing them with your messages after they have asked you to stop. Furthermore, you also like to send them messages which can trigger or provoke them. Namely, insults or sexual remarks. You give zero regard about their distress of you repeatedly badgering them with your messages and you seem to even take pleasure from it. Do you also ridicule them or post public statements to defame them on online forums?

6. You Take Pleasure Looking At Their Pictures

“I’ve basically gone through your entire IG pictures a million times. I even know what you wore 5 years ago for New Year’s celebration.”

You regularly go through their pictures although you have seen them many a time and you also Google search to find more pictures of them. Of course searching for a celebrity’s pictures is hardly cyberstalking. But if you are constantly looking up pictures of the guy or girl who lives two blocks away, you might have an addiction.

7. You Search Them Up Everywhere

“I’ve analysed that you’ve got 1 sister and 2 brothers, and I follow them too just so I don’t miss out on anything.”

You search their name on every social media platform. Moreover, you tend to monitor the people who are related to that person, namely friends and family members. You also find yourself drawn to the interests of the person even if you previously paid no heed whatsoever to those areas of interest. Congratulations! You have now officially stepped into ‘Creepo-topia’.

8. You Yearn To Have Physical Contact With Them

“Let me just touch you … Damn, that sounds really terrifying.”

Do you have the urge to have physical contact with this person? You are on a whole new level of cyberstalking where you want to stalk this person in real life as well now. You might also try to find personal information about this person.

9. You Have Thoughts Of Hacking Their Accounts

“This is not some Matrix style hacking, this is cyberstalking million attempts at the correct password.”

Have you gone to the extent where you have tried to hack this person’s accounts or computer just for the sheer pleasure of monitoring them? Or have you at least given it some thought and brooded over whether to do it or not? Cyberstalking is BAD. It is a serious crime in many cases and do keep in mind that you could end up in a whole lot of trouble for cyberstalking. Cyberstalking is quite popular among young people these days and most of the time we don’t even know that we are cyberstalking someone. It is harmless so long it does not bother that person. But we need to know the limits.

“If you think you do most of the points mentioned, get help! Don’t be a cyberstalker! Totally not cool.”

If you think you are a cyber stalker or you are one step away from becoming one, it is important that you keep your stalking activity at the bare minimum. Looking for information about someone on the Internet is not entirely wrong. You are not violating anyone’s individual rights by having a scoop of what they share on the Internet. However, you need be extremely chary to not to cross the line. You should be aware of the moral nuances that distinguish cyberstalking from harmless curiosity. As soon as you do something that causes distress in any form to the person you have been following, you are a cyber stalker. It will not only end badly for you, it can also scar your victims for life. If you can, for starters, try to not stalk them regularly. Have a little self-restraint when it comes to the person in question. Cyberstalking can never be a pleasant experience for anyone. Think twice before you decide to stalk someone online. It can be just as dangerous as stalking someone in real life.

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