Signs Someone is Facebook Stalking you

The ease with which personal information can be attained and modified on the internet has brought in another dimension to stalking. Social networking sites have proven to be particularly favorite haunt of stalkers because of the convenience with which they can reach their targets. Despite taking enough security precautions, you may still get the uncomfortable feeling of being watched. Online stalking consists of people communicating with you in ways that unsettle you - whether purposefully intended or unknowingly - especially with respect to suggesting or implying that they're watching and noting your every comment and update. In order to confirm your suspicions, watch out for these signs that someone is Facebook stalking you.

He/she always comments on your posts

One of the earliest signs that you may have a Facebook stalker is someone who is always ready to comment on your posts, even though you do not know him/her that well. While friends and family are expected to comment on your posts, someone who is practically a stranger always seeking to comment is a warning sign – though he/she has not officially crossed into stalking territory, these are the kind of people you may want to watch out for.

He/she shows up at the top of your Friends list

Facebook algorithms are meant to work in a way so that when you to go your Facebook profile and view your list of friends, the top of the list usually includes those people who you’ve interacted with regularly, or have the most shared friends with. However if there is someone who you don’t know that well showing up in your list, you should start becoming a little more concerned. Someone out there is a person who somehow has managed to defy the workings of Facebook and is treading into territory that should ideally be made up of your close friends and family.

He/she keeps sending you notifications

If you find yourself receiving constant notifications to play an online game from a person you barely know or being tagged in an application by someone you can’t even remember meeting, it could be a sign that he/she is stalking you. Not only is it annoying for your phone to vibrate every time when such a notification comes, there is something fishy in receiving a Farmville gift or request asking you to help someone with their City, when you don’t even play Cityville.

He/she sends you creepy messages

Just like repeated and creepy phone calls are a hallmark of stalking in real life, so to sending weird messages again and again on Facebook qualify for its equivalent in the virtual world. While what is creepy may be subject to individual sensibilities, a good way to determine which messages fit the bill is to see your own responses. If you’re sent a message multiple times from someone and you still aren’t responding, you can be pretty sure that that qualifies as Facebook stalking. In fact the Instant Messenger tool on Facebook is a particularly favorite tool of stalkers. A true Facebook stalker does not only stalk one person. Instead they attempt to prey on multiple subjects until they get a response. A single IM response from you is enough motivation to keep a Facebook stalker messaging you for the next few months. You will keep receiving strange messages on your IM from someone who you can’t even recalling coming across. While such cases where the person will simply not leave you alone but keeps posting updates, sending messages, and constantly butting in, may not necessarily indicate a threat, doing this constantly tends to reveal obsessive behavior which is closely related to stalking.

He/she comments on photos from long ago

When you post something to your feed it’s acceptable for your friends and family to like or comment on your post. However if you find that someone is going back to your photo archives and posting comments on an image from when you were 16, that is sure to qualify as weird. While it is common knowledge that most people spend some time perusing their friends’ photo archives, the secret is not acknowledging it. When a comment shows up on a photo from many years ago, it is as sure a sign as any that someone is spending a little too much time staring at your stuff.

You feel threatened

If you feel more than just irritated or challenged by the behavior and instead feel threatened or harassed in any way, then the Facebook stalking has become very serious and should be dealt with promptly. Such a feeling may have been brought about after the person refuses to leave you alone despite your various requests to stop messaging you, leaving wall comments, or sending you things like links. Perhaps he/she is leaving lots of comments that are suggestive of the two of you spending more time, or even the rest of your lives, together when he/she is your lover or spouse. Another situation typical of online stalking is when you are at the receiving end of intimidating language or abusive language, such as cursing or sexually suggestive comments.  Are you being bullied and/or threatened? For example, has someone been posting unkind, doctored, private, photos of you or your loved ones online – if so, you are a sure victim of stalking in the virtual world and you should take steps to address the situation as soon as possible. Talk to parents, friends, teachers or counselors and let them know what you're going through. Actions taken to instill fear or make threats are as real and wrong online as they are in the real world. This is not something to put up with alone and the sooner you get support and someone else to talk to, the sooner you'll know whether or not the fears are your perception or whether there really is a situation to be concerned about. Keep in mind that there are strong laws in place to prosecute online stalking and bullying and if your situation warrants it, by all means take your concerns to the police.