The usage of smartphones has definitely increased over the years. And with that, the exposure to social media has only widened. Every smartphone owner has access to Facebook and WhatsApp primarily. In times of Orkut, the first social networking site, there were certain age restrictions but today every 12-15-year child has an account on Facebook. So, there is a lot of audiences which is exposed to information, both good and bad! It becomes an addiction to check the notifications and receive messages. But on a larger scale, the exposure is promoting stalking and voyeurism.

In a most recent case, the CBI busted a child pornography racket that was going on WhatsApp. It involved people from 119 members from different countries. The main group administrator has been arrested. Pornographic material was being uploaded in the group named 'KidsXXX'. So while the messaging application facilitates staying in touch with people across borders, it can be heavily misused. This is just one example that has come to the front, there could be so many more!

A girl in Mumbai who overheard two guys talking about cheating on a girl, took it upon herself to find the girl so that she would be informed. The girl made a post on Facebook, described the guys, wrote down the conversation and asked people to tag and find the girl who was being cheated on! While she may have thought of it as a good Samaritan deed, it was indeed promoting heavy stalking. People were tagging every girl with the name stated. What happens when the girl finds out? Aren’t we turning voyeurs to know what happens next?

In a similar case from January 2018, a girl kissed a handsome guy on Eiffel Tower and forgot to take his number. She then posted a nice little story on the internet and asked Twitter to help her find him. Yet again, the people on the micro-blogging site with their embellished stalking skills helped to find the guy for this girl. The girl then thanked the social sphere and urged people to not bother him and family before. But then, what about the botheration which was caused anyway?

How easy it has become to stalk on social media, all you have to do is enter a name, find a few details and you have the entire profile in front of you. Some people do not even realise how this seemingly harmless snooping takes serious turns. Once you find a mobile number, it escalates on a more personal level through WhatsApp. Because everyone is obviously on WhatsApp today!

It is very common to see of meme posts shared as ‘we all have a friend with stalking skills like CBI.’ But while sharing it far and wide you do not realize how that person is using social media to its utmost disadvantage. Such posts not only make look stalking as a good thing of convenience but also promote the idea of snooping easily into someone’s profiles. The next step of stalking comes into turning voyeuristic. And with the more and more usage of these social media platforms, with a new one being introduced every few days, such incidents will only rise.

Memes for stalking (Photo credits: Facebook/UpsideMe)

There need to be some stringent policies by the government and the cyber cell to take immediate actions in such cases. Parents need to keep a watch on what your child is scrolling through on Facebook. It is also a thing to wonder if school children really need a WhatsApp? Along with that, there should be some strict privacy measures that every individual should take on their own. Yes, social media does seem very useful for socializing but off late, it has become an easy facilitator of cybercrime!

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 23, 2018 12:25 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).