Many of us are guilty of checking the online social media pages of someone we’re attracted to, or even looking up an ex, especially after a breakup. It’s normal. It happens often. But when do you know it's becoming over the top and you're basically online stalking?
A new study by Superdrug in the UK has been released, showing just how often people stalk either their ex's or crushes on social media. What made this new study more interesting was the way it looked at singles, people in relationships, and those who are married when it comes to online stalking.
One thousand people from Europe and America participated in the questionnaire, with a scale of "one to creepy", to help determine what people think is “okay” when it comes to social media stalking, and who, well, might need help.
The survey revealed that 56.5 percent of Americans admitted to glancing over their ex’s profile at least once a month. But that wasn’t even the interesting part, the poll also revealed that those who were in a committed relationship or married had higher results. Married people came in at 65.8 percent and 66.7 of those in relationships looked up their ex online each month. Americans who weren’t in a relationship at all were less likely to check on an old ex in comparison to Europeans.
But what about stalking habits towards crushes on social media? Well, now this was the slightly surprising part of the poll. Twelve percent of people who participated in the research admitted to searching for more information on their secret crush. Regardless of relationship status, 5.7 percent had added them on several social media accounts, 24 percent had looked over their crush's social media profile for over 15 minutes, while 4.1 percent had tracked their crush’s location and, wait for it... 2.9 percent had tried to hack into their social media account. Scary and possibly illegal.
It might be fair to say that some people may not be completely aware of how creepy their online activities are until it accidentally slips out and leaves their mouth. Twenty-four percent of Europeans confessed to accidentally sharing information about their crush that can only be found by searching online, otherwise known as "word vomit", while for Americans it was just over 10 percent.
The poll also shared that the top online media platforms to look up acquaintances were Facebook, Instagram, and Google. Though we're hoping you don't take this as a how-to guide to online stalking.
