For teenagers, social media has become somewhat a part of their lives. Nowadays you can barely think of a teenager who doesn’t have a facebook account, a twitter, a tumblr or whatsoever. It’s their way of keeping themselves updated, sharing information, gaining information and connecting with friends. Also it’s their way of expressing, but there are times where the expressing and the divulging becomes too much as the internet could also pose certain stranger danger.
If your teenager is being too expressive by sharing too much information online he/she can be an easy target for stalkers, who are usually strangers or sexual predators who have locked their eyes on their target and would try to seduce or lure them into their trap. It’s important that if ever this happens, you as a parents should be notified immediately, so it’s good to have open communication with your children.
If ever this happens though, a few things you should know about these stalkers is to engage them once and ONLY once. Just simply tell them “no” or “stop” once and leave them alone, if you repeatedly respond to the stalker’s messages it would only entice him/her to harass you and your teenager more. Also, never ever confront this person face-to-face, this is a complete stranger we’re talking about and we won’t know if he/she has any weapons on him/her.
It’s also important to document everything, printscreen chats, messages and emails that can prove of the stalking activities and report to your nearest police station as they all have their own cybercrime divisions. Stay safe and protect your kids from stalkers.