http://www.teenvogue.com/connect/blogs/soundoff/2011/02/facebook-stalking.html
Stalking is normally shunned in our society. The law prohibits these actions by allowing ‘victims’ to file restraining orders,etc. So why is it that something that is socially unacceptable and illegal is the complete opposite..a norm..online!!!
What is the difference between trying to find out more a lot how a person looks..who they hang out with (Do you have mutual friends?)..where they work..God forbid you continue to find them intriguing..Guess what? You are stalking them!!!
If you were to behave this way in reality, outside of the internet..some might call you a CREEP or peeping tom, and it wouldn’t be followed by a “lol…:)”
According to urbandictionary.com, a facebook stalker (yes they actually coined that term) is :”An individual who secretly looks up people on facebook, going through albums, comments and personal information to piece together a picture of this person. Potentially developing into an obsession.”
However, in the article I was reading in Teen Vogue, entitled, Cyberspy: Are you a Facebook Stalker? “Experts say you shouldn’t feel strange about regularly checking out someone’s page- as long as your intentions are healthy.” But what is healthy? It is also said too much of anything is a bad…being excessive can never lead to anything positive. I believe if you wouldn’t do it in real life, don’t do it through the internet.
“Stalking” really has become such a normal thing and so easy to do with all this social media. Twitter and facebook make it tempting and open for the “stalkers” out there. But I feel like the stalkers are not the way we perceive them in actual real life, strangers or people out to hurt us, but more like people we dont want to necessarily talk to such as an ex boyfriend or girlfriend, although this doesnt make it any better. The problem with this is, you cant actually see who is stalking your page and reading everything you write or is actually obsessed with you, because there is no way to see who and how many times your page is viewed. This can start to become a big problem. people need to keep on top
Maybe the reason why the act of “stalking” someone is more acceptable on facebook is because the person who is stalking is not in the immediate presence of the person being stalked. On a facebook page, while constantly being updated, the stalker is still not literally following a person’s every move and not literally capturing everything. Additionally all the information that a “stalker” gains access to has already been placed in public for others to see it.
Maybe it’s more permissible because its more akin to always looking for information or gossiping about someone than actually following someone and violating their space.
I agree that it can be intrusive, but not to the extent of someone waiting outside your house or following you without you knowing as would be the case with conventional stalking.