Generation iStalk: an Examination of the prior relationship between victims of stalking and offenders

Stalking is a growing issue in the United States faced by many each year. The proliferation of social media sites has made cyberstalking a new form of social harassment and potential victimization. The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence of traditional and cyberstalking on a medium sized college campus in the Southeastern United States. Included was an examination of the impact of the victim-offender relationship, to whom victimization was reported, and gender patterns of social media use. In total, 1,040 undergraduate/graduate students were surveyed using a multistage cluster sampling method. Results showed that cyberstalking was more prevalent than traditional stalking. In addition, the most common victim-offender relationship was ex-intimate partners when the victim was cyberstalked; however, strangers were the most common victim-offender relationship for those who were traditionally stalked. Consistent with the current literature, victims were more likely to report both traditional and cyberstalking incidents to friends/family members as opposed to law enforcement. As new social networking sites continue to surface, it is imperative that they are frequently examined as therein lies the potential for cyberstalking incidents to occur