It’s not fun to be harassed or abused, whether it’s online or elsewhere. With the advent of the Internet and the different social media platforms, bullying and stalking has gone to another level. One social media site notorious for stalking and harassment incidents is Facebook. There have been many incidents of people deleting or deactivating their accounts because of threats and serious cases of stalking.
Fortunately, there are steps that you can do when it comes to dealing with a stalker on Facebook. By following these, you’ll be able to stop any creeps from ever being able to view your profile or from contacting you again.
Be honest and tell the person right away
Even if your stalker is someone you are in acquaintance with for a bit, don’t feel that you have to accommodate them. People sometimes enjoy stalking others because they get away with – nobody tells them no even if they are already misusing Facebook. Remember that your experience with a social media platform is just as important as anyone else’s. If you think someone’s behavior is spoiling your enjoyment, tell the person outright. Tell them that you don’t like their posts and give reasons why.
Never treat it lightly if you think you already feel threatened or harassed. Get help immediately or tell someone.
Don’t reply to their messages
Some cases of Facebook stalking started with a random person commenting on a picture and complimenting you on how you look. You can just be polite and send a short reply. If they started sending creepy and long messages, a short reply or no reply at all would suffice. This signals them that you are not interested.
If someone’s leaving weird comments on your Facebook posts or pictures, deleting them is the best course of action. Doing so will let the creeps know that you are not interested in getting involved with them in any way.
Take advantage of Facebook’s privacy settings and block options
Sometimes, getting stalked on Facebook can be easily fixed by simply checking out the privacy settings and making use of them. Through these settings, you’ll be able to block people and even stop any applications from accessing your profiles. All you have to do is look for “Block Lists” on the setting and add the name of the person you don’t want seeing your profile.
You can also go to that person’s profile and find the small menu to either Report or Block the person. Through the Report option, you can tell Facebook that the profile is a stalker or has been abusive. Another way to stop people from seeing your profile is by setting your profile to make it unsearchable except for those on your friends list. You can also set your profile to not accept messages from anyone except for your friends.
Tell your parents and friends
Dealing with Facebook stalking can be overwhelming and you need someone with a level head to give you advice about the situation. If your stalker is a mutual friend with anyone you trust, make sure to let them know what’s happening. They can keep a lookout for the stalker’s behavior and alert you for any possible incident of retaliation from the person you blocked.
You have to realize that people who tend to be obsessive don’t understand the harm of what they do. Make sure to tell your parents about any incident of Facebook stalking if the person involved is actually someone you know in real life. People like these can resort to underhanded tactics like muddying your reputation as form of retaliation.
Seek the help of authority
If you already feel genuinely harassed or threatened as a result of what your Facebook stalker is doing, then it might be time to seek help from the authorities. You can talk to your parents, teachers, counselors, etc. Let them know what’s going on and let them guide you in taking actions. Do not hesitate to contact the police should any harm to you or your property happen.
Facebook should be a great avenue for networking and reconnecting with old friends. It makes it easy to get in touch with people. But, it can also be a place where unpleasant experiences can arise. We hope that with the help of this article, we’re able to give you some insights on how to stop creepy people from bugging you while online.
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