They Say Change is Inevitable
Fifty percent of our four-member household is pretty much anti-change. Care to guess which 2 family members I'm referring to? I speak of myself and Darling 1. Darling 2 and DH are generally more go with the flow kind of guys. I wish I could say the same about the whole family.
When faced with change we, the anti-change advocates, first think about the proposed change for a week or two; just mull it over in our heads. Next, we question the reasoning behind the change and necessity of it for the next several weeks. Then, we promptly reject the change. When told the change is not an option, but a reality, we dig our heels in and prepare for all out war. Being forced to accept the change only strengthens our resolve to maintain our position. Life goes on. We might begin to realize the change is not so bad, maybe even a good thing after 6 months to a year. I wish I could say I'm exaggerating about this.
The Dawning of a New Age
Well, this is how I felt about the Internet and email back in the day. I did not grasp the whole concept. Very few people had email. Even fewer businesses had websites. I had just gotten used to a cell phone for Pete's sake. When I graduated from college I had never even used the Internet. When I entered law school West Publishing (still just West then, not Thomson West, and certainly not Thomson Reuters West) still sent the law students CDs to download the new caselaw, statutes, regulations, etc. rather than going online to their database. It all seems so absurd now, but then it's what I was familiar with and it was comfortable; why change?
Fast forward 10 or 15 years, I have now totally accepted the Internet and all the information it has to offer; Facebook was taking off, but I was not on board. I was being bombarded by friends requesting me to join, repeatedly asking why I was not on Facebook. I resisted wholeheartedly. I did not need to be putting that kind of personal, mundane or silly information out for the world, or the world as I chose it to be, for viewing and commenting. I finally gave up the good fight and relented, joining Facebook in December 2009. I was never an overzealous member, but I did connect with a few old friends from high school and college.
How Did I Get Here?
Then, in March of 2010, I launched a blog? What was I thinking? Didn't I know that I was going to have to share all kinds of personal information with not only family and friends, but also total strangers (if I was a success)? {Gasp} Didn't I know I was going to have to create not only a Facebook fan page, but also join Twitter? {Double Gasp} Well, I have done it, and I have enjoyed it too. Who knew?
What I have noticed is that the longer I am at this social media thing, the more relaxed I am about divulging personal thoughts, feelings and facts. Which brings me to my point...This might come as a shock to some of you who feel as comfortable as I do surfing the World Wide Web, but there are some who do harm through these portals. I'm talking about cyberstalking.
Cyberstalking
If you read last week's posts, you know that January is Stalking Awareness Month. Last week I discussed stalking laws, resources for dealing with stalkers, and a stalking awareness television program onInvestigation Discovery Channel this week. This post is about cyberstalking laws and resources.
Cyberstalking is a relatively new crime, developing right along with the information super highway. The National Center for Victims of Crime (NCVC) defines cyberstalking as threatening behavior or unwanted advances directed at another using the Internet and other forms of online and computer communications. Just about everyone has access to a computer, which provides a stalker with access to victims without ever having to leave home or make physical contact with a victim.
Cyberstalking Statistics
WHOA (Working to Halt Online Abuse) has been keeping Cyberstalking statistics since 2000 and the numbers tell a somewhat different story from that of the traditional stalking crimes:
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72.5% of cyberstalking victims are female (similar to traditional stalking stats);
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70% of cyberstalking victims are Caucasian (again similar to traditional stalking stats);
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40.5% of cyberstalking victims are 18-30 years old (still similar)
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Here's where the story changes, only 50.5% of the cyberstalking victims had a relationship of any kind with the stalker;
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49% of the stalkers were male; 29% were female; 1.5% multiple people/gangs; and 21.5% unknown;
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Email was the most common form of stalking, but these statistics were based on the years 2o00-2009. Facebook, MySpace, Twitter and other applications were just beginning to take root and grow and don't even show up in the list until 2008 (My Space) and 2009 (Facebook). Twitter isn't even in the list. I expect these numbers to change in the next few years;
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68% of the cyberstalking victims reported the crime (in general, traditional stalking crimes don't get reported until the contacts have escalated quite a bit); and
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Only 27.5% of the cyberstalking victims report the stalking to have escalated offline, but 63.75 % of the victims say that the stalking activity did escalate online.
Source: www.haltabuse.org
Cyberstalking Laws
According to the National Conference on StateLegislatures (NCSL), 16 states don't have cyberstalking laws, including TX and MD. However, these states do have cyberharassment and/or cyberbullying statutes. All states have at least one of the cyber crime laws on the books. You can access your specific state's law(s) by clicking NCSL above. Cyberstalking crimes are included in the general stalking statute(s) of most states, although some states, like WA State, have separate cyberstalking statutes.
Tips and Resources
The NCVC provides a list of tips and resourcesfor victims of cyberstalking. Another site with good resource information is CyberGuards.com. Some of the information is basic common sense: Don’t post personal, confidential information online; Don’t share your address, birthdate, and in many cases, real name; Do pick strong passwords with letter, numbers and special characters; Do use good judgment before agreeing to meet a person in real life that you have corresponded with online; Do notify law enforcement agencies if you are fearful for your safety. Both sites have additional detailed information about what to do if you are a victim of cyberstalking.
The Scoop
Technology has grown and changed by leaps and bounds over the last 20 plus years. My Darling Boys don't know a world without the Internet or Smart phones. I can only imagine what the world will look like by the time they are adults. The Internet has brought the world into our homes. We can experience culture, war, music, TV, movies, sports, minute-by-minute coverage of ground-breaking news; we can play games; we can communicate with family, friends or strangers without ever leaving the comfort of our home. It's an amazing world we live in, but sometimes these conveniences are used in a way that causes harm to another, and this is a crime. So, be aware as you cruise along the information super highway. Over and out…
Anna
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