Gloat

They shake your equilibrium. They taint your good ideas with their unsolicited comments. They are following you to the point that you are wondering what is it in you that they want. Most of the time, they are waiting for you to commit a mistake so that they can GLOAT. They will then make your life contaminated with their negativity. They could not accept that you are happy and contented. They need to make you to experience their miserable lives. Why do you have to be happy when in fact they are not? THEY ARE YOUR CYBER STALKERS.

According to the National Center for Victims of Crime, “cyber stalking” is threatening communication or unwanted advances directed at another person using the internet and other forms of online and computer communications. It can involve the use of email, instant messaging, chat rooms, bulletin boards and/or other electronic communication devices to repeatedly harass or threaten another person.

Social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and even Instagram are potential hunting grounds for cyber-stalkers. GMO Globalsign.inc mentioned that 95% of teens who witnessed bullying on social media report that others, like them, have ignored the behavior. However, 25% of teens on social media  reported that online incidents have resulted in face-to-face encounters in the police quarters and even face-to-face encounters.

What causes cyber stalking? Is there a profile of the person who like to follow your movements on social media and plan to destroy your credibility? Is this attitude a reflection of their “Shadow” or the thing that Jung calls the evil side in people? Or is this a symptom of a mental defect?

Psychologist Dr. Emma Short told Newsbeat that these “types” do not always know that they already have crossed the line. Most of these persons, she continued, are struggling with real relationships that they do not even form one. She said that those who spend a lot of time online are probably not functioning well with their families and their relationships and become fixated with others. They tend to be anxious and could be suffering from anxiety, depression, stress or another addiction.

Dr. Short also mentioned that cyber stalkers seem to be quite isolated and are lacking of social support which could be a result of poor family upbringing, selfishness and immaturity.

As a school head, I am confronted with this reality when police officers start coming to the office to report on cases of cyber bullying and cyber stalking. There are some who even create fake accounts and destroy the personalities of other students. Trolls are thriving in cyberspace and will continue to do so if these persons will not be healed with the wounds which made them who they are.

Psychiatrists, psychologists, and other mental health professionals view most stalkers as suffering from psychiatric illness causing them to be psychotic or delusional. When not deemed as psychotic, stalkers are considered plagued by some type of personality disorder or fueled by unique psychological factors. But, whatever the psychological rationale may be, the stalker rarely comprehends the fear or pain he/she is causing the other person. Blinded by the motivation he/she is causing, the predator feel the victim is deserving of the fear and pain he/she is causing… or he/she does not care for he/she is often selfish and do not have the capacity to love others. (ipredator.com)

In real life, we have these persons in our midst. They are the chismosas/chismosos and those persons who spy on your personal activities. They were present even when the internet was still a dream. They were able to cause a lot of misunderstanding and broke many relationships. They gloat on your pains and considers them as correct. They simply migrated to a new platform - the social media…. If they are adults, we could not help them since they are the ones dealing with their own lives. They chose to be like that. But if it is beyond the limits causing us to be trampled and abused, we must consider what is lawful.

We let them be. We must not be tainted with their negative and bitter lives. We continue to take our journeys toward happiness. Peace, love, affection and good deeds must blossom around us. Theirs is a life of darkness, avarice and selfishness. We do not mind them for they want us to feel their miserable lives. We shield ourselves with respect and divine guidance.