Stalking is a normal Activity

Apparently it is a crime to stalk another person. I guess there has to be a sort of creepiness to the behaviour to attract the attention of the police, and probably a complaint on behalf of the stalked individual, but for the other 99% of the time I think people stalk each other a lot more than most are willing to admit. F’book has produced a lot of “stalkers”, those that want to keep a low profile and not be labelled badly seem to prefer “lurker”. It intrigues me that how many meanings seem to have opposite meanings than it did 50 years ago? A topic for another post maybe.

Before F’book people stalked by simply reading someone else’s web page, you couldn’t see who they were linked to or friends with or what groups they belonged, unless the web page creator but that information in an accessible fashion. I like this style and whilst it is very 90’s and I don’t mind that people read these random thoughts because its about me and no one else. Before Web Pages I am sure that people lurked nearby to over hear conversations, but I think that’s called ‘eavesdropping’, it was considered rude, without an apology. All these link though to gossip.

I just learn someone is pregnant. No big deal, but I heard it via someone with a F’book account. I don’t even know if the information is valid and apart from the approaching the person directly, which is the usual method of getting reliable information, how weird is it to walk up to someone and say, “Hey, I heard from someone with a F’book account, who saw a message on so-and-so’s account that you commented on and caught a message on that wall about how your having a baby, I don’t have a F’book account, but I know and congratulations”.

Each to their own, but I prefer my friends to talk to me and tell me themselves.