As mentioned in my last post, with new technology comes new responsibility. Social media websites have become an addictive way to waste time, a great tool for communication and most recently an attrative method to stalk and/or murder. I cannot stress enough that one should limit the amount of personal information they publish on the web. Nothing bugs me more than witnessing countless Facebook updates that make a stalker's job easy: Jessica is "in a dark alley...alone...as I type".
This past December, the world experienced the first ever 'Twitter murder' in New York. It is alleged an argument on Twitter led one childhood friend to shoot another in the neck. The victim's mother barely understood what Twitter was. Who knew 140 characters could end your life?
A similar situation occurred in the U.K. last February when British police warned women to be vigilent of a murder suspect attempting communication via Facebook. George Appleton was accused of badly burning the corpse of his 36-year-old girlfriend, Clare, whom he met online. He then made contact with several other women. Creepy stuff!
Even our beloved Kim Kardashian has been affected. The reality TV star had to get a restraining order against an obsessed fan that extended all the way into the social media realm. Dennis Shaun Bowman would stalk Kardashian using Twitter as a way of locating her. I wonder what would stop Bowman from creating a fake account as a way of continuing his fantasy?
As much as people want to be a part of social media, we need to be careful of how we are using it. We also need to educate younger generations about the dangers of posting revealing information and pictures on our profiles. You wouldn't accept a ride from a stranger, so why accept a friend request?
