[4] Cyberstalking may also include monitoring, identity theft, threats, vandalism, solicitation for sex, or gathering information that may be used to threaten or harass.
Technology ethics professor Lambèr Royakkers defines cyberstalking as perpetrated by someone without a current relationship with the victim.
About the abusive effects of cyberstalking, he writes that: [Stalking] is a form of mental assault, in which the perpetrator repeatedly, unwantedly, and disruptively breaks into the life-world of the victim, with whom he has no relationship (or no longer has), with motives that are directly or indirectly traceable to the affective sphere.
"Disgruntled employees pose as their bosses to post explicit messages on social network sites; spouses use GPS to track their mates' every move.
[17] The Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), in Washington D.C. has released statistics that there are 3.4 million stalking victims each year in the United States.
[18] According to Robin M. Kowalski, a social psychologist at Clemson University, cyberbullying has been shown to cause higher levels of anxiety and depression for victims than normal bullying.
[19] According to Joey Rushing, a District Attorney of Franklin County, Alabama, there is no single definition of a cyberstalker - they can be either strangers to the victim or have a former/present relationship.
It is a form of domestic violence, and experts say its purpose is to control the victim in order to encourage social isolation and create dependency.
The media issued a statement that Arquette planned to communicate with fans exclusively through her Twitter account in the future.
As members reinforce each others' beliefs, they fail to see themselves as individuals and lose a sense of personal responsibility for their destructive acts.
[27] A notable example of online mob harassment was the experience of American software developer and blogger Kathy Sierra.
In 2007 a group of anonymous individuals attacked Sierra, threatening her with rape and strangulation, publishing her home address and Social Security number, and posting doctored photographs of her.
[32] Cyberstalkers find their victims by using search engines, online forums, bulletin and discussion boards, chat rooms, and more recently, through social networking sites,[33] such as MySpace, Facebook, Bebo, Friendster, Twitter, and Indymedia, a media outlet known for self-publishing.
[35] More commonly they will post defamatory or derogatory statements about their stalking target on web pages, message boards, and in guest books designed to get a reaction or response from their victim, thereby initiating contact.
When prosecuted, many stalkers have unsuccessfully attempted to justify their behavior based on their use of public forums, as opposed to direct contact.
Classic cyberstalking behavior includes the tracing of the victim's IP address in an attempt to verify their home or place of employment.
[36][37] A 2007 study led by Paige Padgett from the University of Texas Health Science Center found that there was a false degree of safety assumed by women looking for love online.
Cyberstalking and cyberbullying are relatively new phenomena, but that does not mean that crimes committed through the network are not punishable under legislation drafted for that purpose.
The primary distinction is one of age; if adults are involved, the act is usually termed cyberstalking, while among children it is usually referred to as cyberbullying.
In 2012, there was a high-profile investigation into the death of Amanda Todd, a young Canadian student who had been blackmailed and stalked online before committing suicide.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police were criticized in the media for not naming one of her alleged stalkers as a person of interest.
For example, the Violence Against Women Act, passed in 2000, made cyberstalking a part of the federal interstate stalking statute.
[54][55][56] There have been a number of high-profile legal cases in the United States related to cyberstalking, many of which have involved the suicides of young students.
[60] In another case of cyberstalking, college student Dharun Ravi secretly filmed his roommate's sexual liaison with another man, then posted it online.