Are you being stalked? Trust your instinct

It's not uncommon these days to hear about people who have suffered from cyber-stalking and online harassment.

Whether you've been bombarded with unwanted emails, or someone has written abusive things about you online, or created a fake Facebook profile in your name, the attention can be unpleasant, unwanted and disturbing.

The Network for Surviving Stalking (NSS), a registered charity in the UK, has today launched a campaign to increase the awareness of stalking (whether it be online or offline), and encourage potential victims to come forward and report the behaviour to the police.

The NSS claims in a press release that stalking is "a crime that's often not taken seriously but can ruin lives and even lead to murder" and that "even though we may feel uncomfortable with someone's obsessive behaviour – all too often we put up with it."

The charity has created a new website, www.trustyourinstinct.org, and have developed a quiz to help individuals determine if someone's behaviour is getting out-of-hand.

It seems to me that the wide adoption of the internet and social networking sites have just made it easier for stalkers to prey upon people, hiding their activities behind fake identities in order to be closer to the object of their attention.

Speaking personally, I've had a couple of unpleasant experiences where Facebook has been too slow to respond to harassment of me and my family.



I don't believe my experiences have been anything like as bad as what some people have had to suffer - but it does suggest to me that the social networks need to work much harder at combatting this problem.



If you want to support the "Trust Your Instinct" campaign, or are looking for more advice and information about protecting yourself from stalkers, you can follow the campaign on Twitter or join their Facebook page.

By the way - don't be fooled into believing some of the many messages and rogue applications that have spread via Facebook and Twitter in recent months which claim to be able to reveal who has been secretly checking out your profile. They're all scams.

[NakedSecurity]

Tackle cyber-bullying!

The other day, my husband and I were sitting al fresco enjoying a coffee, when I noticed a bunch of teenagers sitting at the table next to us. Most of them were fiddling about with their latest generation mobile telephones when I heard one of the girls comment: “You should not have interfered in Laura and Pedro’s relationship. It is none of your business what they do. You have most definitely overstepped the mark! She was reading out loud the comment she had just posted, when a couple other friends immediately posted further comments of the sort.

So what? Yes, I know, it does not have to turn into a nasty situation, but, then again, the opposite could happen very quickly. Because, as Mark Zuckerberg said at a technology conference hosted by TechCrunch: “Today, users are more comfortable sharing more information more openly. The social norms have evolved.” Fair enough, I fully acknowledge the advantages of social networks but, in the case of teenagers, they can be a double-edged sword and I cannot help but thinking how easy somebody’s reputation can publicly and rapidly be damaged. What is known as cyber-bullying or “the use of information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm others”.

Because, deep down, and paradoxically, as I am saying this from a blog , I think social networks are the perfect tool to feed one’s ego. And the ego of a teenager is still “in progress”: they need to reaffirm their identity and because the visibility of they write is immediate, they can build their personality as they post along. Some of them actually find it easier to express their views by just hitting Send, or Post than by words. Through social networks, teenagers can get adherence to their comments, involve their allies and reinforce their role as a leader. Harassing the weaker teenager is not a new phenomenon, yet the Internet allows the harasser to take refuge in the comfort of anonymity. Social networks can take the role of the new “toilet wall” where teens used to write insults and names to annoy their colleagues.

It is tricky. Whenever I have mentioned to the parents of friends of my pre-teen daughter how important it is for us to keep an eye on how our kids behave on social networks and how it is vital to promote tolerance and civism, I very often get looks as to say: You control freak!

Well, all I can say is: would you not warn your baby if his fingers are dangerously close to an electric plug? To me, it is a question of sheer common sense because teenagers are very vulnerable yet adorable creatures (well, most times ) What do you think?

Further information and useful links on cyber-bullying.

[ComputerSecurityArticles]

Google teaches child mentors to help victims of cyber bullies

Anna Davis, Education Correspondent

24 Feb 2011

London students will form a group of "cyber mentors" to help young victims of online bullying.

About 50 schoolchildren will receive specialist training at Google's headquarters in the capital tomorrow in an attempt to tackle the problem. They will then act as real-time agony aunts on a website set up to help victims of bullying.
The mentors, who have all experienced bullying themselves, will work from their bedrooms.
They will be able to answer questions and give advice to bullying victims on their home computers.
The training comes after 15-year-old Natasha MacBryde, from Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, died after being hit by a train on Valentine's Day amid rumours that she had been bullied.
It was revealed yesterday that her Facebook remembrance page had been hijacked and sick taunts had been left to be seen by her family and friends.
Emma Jane Cross, chief executive of Beatbullying, which is running the mentoring project, said the website will provide immediate help and support for young people and is a "crucial part" of the battle against bullying.
The charity said that about one in three young people has been a victim of cyber bullying. Many had received malicious text messages, prank mobile phone calls or had unkind content about them posted on social networking sites.
A spokeswoman for Beatbullying said: "Cyber mentors give young people immediate access to other children and young people going through a similar situation, as well as support from fully accredited councillors.
"Young people these days are spending more and more time online and CyberMentors.org.uk is a safe, peer-to- peer networking site providing information and support for young people being bullied both off and online. It's social networking for good."

'I witnessed the pain of friends who suffered'

Training: Jessica Moore

Jessica Moore will start the training tomorrow because she has witnesses the pain of friends who have been bullied.
The 16-year-old from West Acton said: "In our group there was a hierarchy and the people higher up would pick on the ones who couldn't express themselves. I've seen it with younger years especially online. I would step in at school with people who were close to me, but it's difficult to help everyone. Being a cyber mentor will be so much better."

'Hate campaign made me want to hang myself'

Targeted: Georgia Woods

Fourteen-year-old Georgia Woods became a cyber mentor after she was bullied so badly that she tried to hang herself.
The Dartford teenager made the attempt two years ago in the school lavatory with her tie. She was being targeted by fellow pupils who did not approve of her performing in the school play and started calling her names.
Then a group of people set up an "I hate Georgia Woods" petition on Bebo and she was sent abusive emails and texts. Her parents only found out after they read her diary.
CyberMentors.org.uk

From The London Evening Standard