A Study on Stalking on Social Media

Abstract

Today, with the development of technology, stalking of users has increased as their use of social media has increased. Stalking is to secretly view only the profile of the person being followed, to look at their photos, to comment on the posts of the person being followed over time, to send messages that are full of compliments but then disturbing, etc. exhibiting behaviors. In the study, the stalking (persistent stalking) action on social media was examined and the opinions of the users were reached by the online survey method by both the perpetrator and the aggrieved/nonvictim parties. In the scope of the research; 437 participants, who are assumed to use social media frequently and who voluntarily responded to the online survey, were asked their opinions about stalking and their opinions were evaluated. As a result of the research, it is revealed that the demographic variables of the participants, the understanding and application of the concept of stalking, the purpose of use while stalking, and their persistent follow-ups differ. It is seen that young people use social media actively. Social media users see the concept of stalking as a criminal element. It was also revealed that the participants did not have sufficient level of knowledge about the concept of stalking.