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Facebook stalking is a method of gathering information about someone through information posted on an individual’s profile. Facebook allows users to continuously view pictures of the person being stalked through posts informing the social network that this person has uploaded more photos. Access to a person’s wall allows users to view the person’s recent activity as well as any status changes that have been made. Blake Jackson sometimes masturbates to girls on Facebook.

Background

Internet's ability to let individuals perform anonymous activities inevitably makes it an instrument of misbehavior for those who wish to use it as such. Cyberstalking has been around for years, but it wasn’t until recently that Facebook stalking has become an issue. The phenomenon began in 2004 when Facebook took center stage on the Internet. It almost immediately became the home for cyberstalkers. As Facebook users began to surf the site and realize how much knowledge they could obtain by looking at an individual’s profile. A typical Facebook profile has the potential to display interests, education, work background, and contact information. Essentially, anyone could find out a lot of information about somebody just by looking at their Facebook page.

The creators of Facebook have installed many privacy settings to limit what users on Facebook can see. However, this functionality doesn’t stop all cyberstalkers. Considering there are over 500 million Facebook users, there is always the possibility of having an unwanted visitor on your page.

Purpose

The main purpose of Facebook stalking is to discover the true personality of an individual. Anyone can find information about someone on Facebook that would take months to find out in person. As Corrie Pikul says, we Facebook stalk because “It makes us feel like Nancy Drew.” For example: A girl who is thinking about dating a certain guy may search his Facebook wall to see how many girls he talks to each day, what he talks about, and find out whether he can be considered the “boyfriend type”.

Factors to Being Stalked

Many factors contribute to someone being Facebook stalked. Everywhere on Facebook there are little pieces of information about you in which someone can use to learn and gather more information about you. Some of the factors that allow people to become Facebook stalked are as follows: Your info page, where people will find information ranging from date of birth, phone number, along with email addresses. Sharing and uploading photos is another way to be stalked. Lastly, your status can allow Facebook stalkers to know where you are at all times. According to an article written by Kathy Kristof of Yahoo finance, the six things that you should not put on Facebook are:

• Your birth and place
• Vacation Plans
• Home Address
• Confessionals
• Password Clues
• Risky Behavior.

Posting this type of information allows one to be Facebook stalked and these elements can lead to one becoming a victim of Facebook stalking.

Preventing Facebook Stalking

There are many measures that Facebook users can take to eliminate the possibility of becoming Facebook stalked. First, users should block all pictures and information others can see or gain knowledge about the individual from their profile. This will ensure that people you do not know or who are not your Facebook friends are not able to stalk you. Second, before beginning on Facebook, users should use the Facebook Privacy Page and take the necessary precautions to reduce or perhaps eliminate the possibility of being Facebook stalked. The Facebook privacy page includes many helpful hints on how to control the availability of your status and pictures to other users. The most important part of this webpage is the tutorial videos that give Facebook users insight on how they can protect their Facebook page. Along with these two helpful hints the simplest way to stop Facebook stalking is just by adding people you know instead of everybody. Although the privacy page limits the availability of information about themselves, a simple search allows users to access information about a victim without approved access to the victim's profile page. Social networking sites like Facebook do not verify users' real identity, so it it is simple to make a fake profile to stalk someone.

References

This article uses bare URLs, which are uninformative and vulnerable to link rot. Please consider converting them to full citations to ensure the article remains verifiable and maintains a consistent citation style. Several templates and tools are available to assist in formatting, such as reFill (documentation) and Citation bot (documentation). (December 2010) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

1. 1. D’Ovidio, Robert, and James Doyle. “A Study on Cyberstalking Understanding Investigative Hurdles.” FBI Law Enforcement Bulletin 72.3 (2003): 10-17. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 10 Nov. 2010.
2. http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?founderbios#!/press/info.php?factsheet
3. http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?founderbios#!/press/info.php?factsheet
4. http://www.elle.com/Life-Love/Sex-Relationships/Confessions-of-a-Facebook-Stalker
5. http://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/110674/6-thing-you-should-never-reveal-on-facebook
6. http://www.facebook.com/privacy/explanation.php
7. Baughman, Laurie L. "FRIEND REQUEST OR FOE? CONFIRMING THE MISUSE OF INTERNET AND SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES BY DOMESTIC VIOLENCE PERPETRATORS." Widener Law Journal 19.3 (2010): 933-966. Academic Search Premier. EBSCO.Web. 30 Nov. 2010.

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