HDTV/3D TV News
A new study is aiming to find out exactly how much cyber-stalking, or online bullying and general harassment goes on in the UK.
A BBC report quotes the British Crime Survey as stating that over a million women and 900,000 men are stalked in this country every year. But there are no figures to show how widespread these nefarious activities are in the virtual world of the net.
The Electronic Communication Harassment Observation survey – yes, it’s the ECHO survey, perhaps everyone has to take it twice – aims to determine exactly how prevalent online stalking and bullying is. It will question participants as to how often they’ve experienced any sort of harassment on social networking or other websites, via emails or indeed texts.
The research is being organised by the Network for Surviving Stalking, with the charity hoping to raise awareness of the fact that this is a growing problem in our society.
That’s not surprising given the increased spread of broadband and number of folks online, along with the growing popularity of smartphones.
The Project Leader, Dr Emma Short, told the BBC that while computers and mobiles were just another tool of the trade for some stalkers, she believed there are also “vast numbers of Internet users who are engaged in harassing behaviours simply because they don’t know the rules of appropriate online communication.”
ECHO hopes to establish some rules that will help “define behaviours that are generally experienced as anti-social or likely to cause distress in online communication.”
Although we might suggest at this point, that should be pretty much a matter of common sense. You know when you’re doing something nasty or unpleasant to someone else, and just because it’s online and not face to face doesn’t make it okay. It does, however, make it easier.
The results of the survey and numbers on those affected by cyber-stalking will certainly make for interesting reading. Preliminary percentages should be available come the end of the year, according to PC World, although the program still needs money and is looking for willing sponsors.
Comments (0)
