Are you a Facebook stalker?

Photo: Jessenia Martinez

Anyone can be a stalker, even you. The privacy issues that have emerged with the success of Facebook have made it easier than ever for people to meddle into each other’s business to the point of insanity. If you are spending a lot of time on Facebook, looking at profiles others than your own, answer the following questions:

• Do you ‘search’ for a friend/ex-boyfriend/crush daily to see what they’re up to?

• Do you always comment on the same people’s profile?

• Do you read all ‘wall-to-wall’ and ‘see friendship’ stories of the same particular person?

• Do you find yourself going through old pictures and outdated status or posts for one particular profile that is not yours? Do you comment on old posts?

• Do you find things out about your ‘friends’ on Facebook and then use that information to enhance your relationship with them (i.e. text them about a picture, bring up their status in conversation)?

• Do you inbox people you don’t talk to on a regular basis?

If you answered yes to three or more of those questions, Beware! You may be a Facebook stalker. According to the urban dictionary, Facebook stalking consists of “monitoring another person’s activity (status updates, photo uploads, photo tags, photo comments, wall posts, friend additions, group memberships, attended events, mutual friends, e.t.c.) on the popular social network of Facebook” in order to find out more information about them.

Although you may see this practice as harmless, given that it’s done online, in the privacy of your computer and with no intentions of it becoming physical or ‘real’, Facebook stalking interferes with your life. Firstly, it is a waste of precious time you could be investing in personal growth or hobbies. It’s a sign that you are giving a lot of importance to this one person who may not feel the same way about you. It also shows the lack of “real” significant relationships through your desire to feel closer to those you stalk on Facebook.

This cyber habit can ruin your relationships, because you will be caught. When you start conversations with “I saw your post on…” or “did you see the comment I posted on your…” it raises a red flag to the other person that you are checking their profile often. If you are careful enough not to let it slide, they can still find out easily because there are tips online on how to spot a stalker and just to give you a hint, if you’re the first name in their list of friends they know you are in their page all the time.

Some people who fall into the category of Facebook stalkers will most likely deny it, or say it’s a non-issue since no one is getting hurt. However, some cases have gotten out of hand and turned nasty. If you want to stop stalking people on Facebook but don’t seem to have sufficient self-control: delete them or better yet: block them. If there’s no one to stalk you can resume living your life.