Stalking and social networking

On February 20^, 2011 an article based out Melbourne, Australia state that stalking on the website Facebook is on the rise. This topic is of specific interest to me because four years ago I personally was the victim of cyber stalking and at this time there were very few laws to protect me and my privacy. When I went to the police with my complaint I was basically told that it was my fault and that I invited this very inappropriate and terrifying behavior onto myself because of the fact that I had a MySpace account.

During these months I underwent many different instances of harassment and stalking and felt completely alone and scared. According to the article Face book stalking on the rise, the article states that William Vahl of North Shore Criminal Law said he had seen an increase in clients asking for AVOs against cyber bullies."It's opened up a whole new area and manner in which people are stalked and harassed," said Vahl.

 Examples of harassment and stalking include things such as threaten messages written on their sites or by text, peoples personal pages being hacked and information stolen and then used against them. Things of this sort still seems as though it is not really a threat but it is still a crime. In Smithfield, Rhode Island A 15-year-old sophomore at Smithfield High school is being charged with cyber stalking and using false information for an alleged posting via Facebook that occurred in November 2010 in which he falsified information and created a fake page to harass a fellow student with a birth defect . 

While the idea of cyber stalking really makes a person think of sexually driven actions it can even be as simple as bulling, Face book stalking has become an alarming, growing trend among teenagers and young adults. Teenage harassers post messages on their victim’s walls, comment on their photographs, and constantly and persistently attempt to make contact to the point of obsession. They may even reach out to other people on the victim’s social networking site to learn more details. Such details include like who they are dating and where they are located at any given time, job employment and schooling.

According to the article, this behavior is especially prevalent among teens and young adults that were previously involved romantically. It is not difficult or uncommon for cyber stalking to develop into face-to-face stalking. There are many steps a person can and should take in order to avoid a situation such as this

1.       Avoid Sharing passwords

2.       Check privacy settings, keep your page as private to public eyes as possible

3.       Do not accept friend requests from people you don’t know

4.       Review your friend list monthly

5.       Avoid over sharing personal information, this includes contact information, school information, birthday, and even who your family members are.

6.       Limit personal pictures

I personally feel that the laws protecting a person’s identity and privacy should be heightened, especially with the onset and uproar of social networking. While pages such as Facebook, and Myspace can be all fun and games it can just as quickly turn into a very dangerous and scary situation as I have previously experienced.

Are you addicted to Facebook?>

Before we start, answer me a few questions; How many hours do you spend on Facebook and Twitter? Do you feel the need to check in everywhere you go on your social media site? Does social networking get in the way of being social? Do you procrastinate studying or doing homework to go on your social networking site? Do you find yourself checking your Facebook every time you’re on the computer?  Do you feel the need to post everything that happens to you? Do you find yourself taking pictures just with the intention of posting them to Facebook? After posting do you check to see if anyone commented ever 10 minutes? Do you find yourself glued to Facebook during classes instead of actually paying attention and participating? If you answered yes to any of these have you ever considered that you might be addicted to Facebook. A new study shows that addiction to social networking sites is more prevalent in college students like us. 

According to the University of Maryland’s International Center for Media & the Public Affairs (ICMPA) and the Salzburg Academy on Media & Global Change, The “Going 24 Hours Without Media Study” analyzed data from students in 10 countries, including Argentina, Chile, mainland China, Hong Kong, Lebanon, Mexico, Slovakia, Uganda, the U.K. and the U.S. Their findings show that the majority of people age 25 and younger are addicted to a form of media, including Facebook. The study also found that the two most popular forms of social media were Facebook and cell phones. “It was amazing to me though how easily programmed my fingers were to instantly start typing “f-a-c-e” in the search bar,” a U.S. student said. “It’s now muscle memory, or instinctual, to log into Facebook as the first step of Internet browsing.”

            Andrew Eisner, Retrevo's director of Community and Content, noted in a blog post that the recent survey of 1,000 Americans showed that many people appear to be obsessed with trading information with their friends, family and co-workers. The Retrevo Gadgetology study shows that 48 percent of those polled say they update Facebook or Twitter during the night or as soon as they wake up. The study also says that 19 percent of people under the age of 25 say they update Facebook or Twitter anytime they happen to wake up during the night; 11 percent over the age of 25 say they do the same thing. The study also noted that 42 percent check Facebook or Twitter first thing in the morning, and 28 percent of iPhone users saying they do it before they even get out of bed. “People seem so into their personal tech that they don't mind being interrupted from dinner, during a trip to the bathroom or even during sex,”Retrevo says. “The study found that 40 percent of respondents don't mind being interrupted by a text message; 32 percent said interrupting a meal for a message is OK, while 7 percent said they'd even check a message during an intimate moment. Eleven percent of those under the age of 25 would interrupt sex for a message, and 24 percent under 25 would answer a message in the bathroom.” Retrevo says.

According to CNN here are five simple clues to check if you’re addicted to social networking.

1. "If you're staying up late at night because you're on Facebook, and you're tired the next day, Facebook may be a compulsion for you,

2. You spend more than an hour a day on Facebook

3. You become obsessed with old loves

4. You ignore work in favor of Facebook

5. The thought of getting off Facebook leaves you in a cold sweat

So next time you go to post to your social networking site or go to check out your friend’s page, just think about how often you do this and wonder is it really worth it?

Freebies and Social networking

In today’s economy saving money is not only a given but also a necessarily. And a great way of doing this is ironically through social networking sites such as Facebook and twitter. These websites are teaming up with companies such as groupon and even companies such as Victoria Secrets and Kraft Foods to offer their fans a variety of goodies from coupons, to free samples, to high end sweepstakes.  As long as you have a little time to sit in front of your computer and the patience to surf these social networking pages you are willing to find some great finds. According to the article on the MSN website,  “Freebies on Facebook and Twitter”, written by Donna Freeman, the prizes and free samples that are being given away through these social networking sites can be far from stingy and stupid. Toshiba recently gave away 21 laptops in a two-month promotion. T.J. Maxx and Marshalls each gave away a $1,000 back-to-school shopping trip. Warren Miller Entertainment and Polo had teamed up to give away new skis and a $2,000 Ralph Lauren gift card, all in 2010 alone. 

According to this article a man who spent eight months randomly skimming through twitter has gleaned $325 worth of gift cards (Subway, eBay, Amazon), half a dozen restaurant meals, several books, a laptop bag, T-shirts, chocolates, a water bottle, a weight-loss drink mix and event tickets.  I personally am a huge fan of freebies and feel that if you can get it for free there is no reason to pay for it, I myself have gotten dozens and dozens of freebies from Facebook, I personally cannot say much about twitter and their freebies, since I actually just opened  a twitter account this past month.

But, I can vouch for the free samples, coupons and sweepstakes that are available on Facebook. I have personally received a full free bag of Sun Chips, a free bottle of 60 count Excedrin migraine (which is great since I suffer from migraines and I go through them like candy), a free full bottle of gain dish detergent and I even got a 5 dollar check in the mail.  It is a very common thing now a day to use Facebook and twitter for coupons and free samples, last march Burger King had a special promotion on Facebook that offered a free burger to anyone who would delete 10 of their Facebook friends from their page, it is reported that 233,906 friends were bartered for a burger. I have personally being a freebie hunter for many years now and I have found out the secrets to finding the best of the best in the freebie world.  While most people are not as enthused with freebies as I am I have found that I have had the power to convert a few people once they see the treasures they can receive. So in light of helping people find the Facebook and twitter freebies they want I have listed a few websites below to help you get going. Just as always make sure you never request freebies from companies you have never heard of for privacy sakes, never give out your phone number and even if you are serious about freebies it is recommended that you set up an email account just for freebies, so your inbox doesn’t get bombarded with junk mail and spam. So after heading my warnings and you are interested in receiving free stuff… Happy Freebie Shopping.

http://www.facebook.com/FrugalFreebies?v=app_392248091048

http://www.facebook.com/aboutfreebies

http://www.facebook.com/HeyItsFree