A few months ago I received a call from an aunt of mine asking me who the boys in my profile picture were. Now this call caught me off guard as my aunt didn't have a Facebook and my profile has the highest privacy settings, so that even most friends can't see my pictures. However, my aunt quickly assured me that her friend (who is an IT guy) had shown her how to cyberstalk. This basically meant that she could find any information on basically anyone.
Cyberstalking is a relatively new thing. Even the most computer illiterate can easily run a background check on someone as long as they have a credit card and are willing to pay. One website will search for someone's criminal history with simply a name and a state. I did try to find myself, however, I have a pretty common name, so the results didn't yield anything. (Also, I don't have a criminal record.) For further details on cyberstalking, go here.
Now there are applications on social networking websites such as Facebook that allow you to tell everyone where you are at any given time. If you need an update on what Facebook places is exactly, here you go:
And if you want to disable it:
re these applications really necessary though, or are they just further facilitating cyberstalking? After all, if you really wanted to see a friend, you would have invited them along in the first place? So really it boils down to a basic thought: while the idea of being able to check in with people through Facebook and know what they're up to is a simple one, will these kinds of technology lead to further misuse by people who really shouldn't be using it?
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