Is it Wrong to Stalk Someone on Social Media?

[Anonymous]

Have you ever stalked someone on social media? Sometimes we don't want to follow that person, we just want to know what he is doing and what he likes. We want to know more about him, without following. It sounds harmless, right?

They already let us see their posts

Everybody does it all the time, so you think it is normal, right? But have you ever thought what you are doing might be wrong?

There is no privacy on the internet.

Okay, my answer is "No". Because these pictures, tweets, everything on social media is for everybody. They are just there for us to see. That's why it is not wrong. Am I wrong? They just put them there. We can see because their account is not private or they already confirmed our following request. So they are fine with it.

Is it just helpful

You can learn anything about that person before knowing them. Or you can even learn some details that your friend haven't told you yet. You can choose the best gifts for them, you can learn what they like and what they had till now in their life.

But, just be careful about what you already know about them. If you bring everything you know about that person, they will think that you are creepy.

It can ruin the relationship

Okay, now that we know it is not wrong and it can be even useful, we should know that it can be bad too. Let's say you are stalking your partner's social media and you saw some pictures of a few guys/girls and you got jealous. But you don't tell anything about it to your partner. You just act cold. They ask you what's wrong but you don't say anything, usually, girls do that.

That's how the argument starts and it can even ruin your relationship. Just chill out. There is nothing to get jealous of. They wouldn't just put it there if they were cheating. They must be just friends.

[Quintessence]

I wouldn't call it stalking, because you're not invading anyone's privacy by viewing their public posts and pictures (if you were hacking their social media, though, that would be more along the lines of stalking). Neither are you harassing them or giving them unwanted attention by simply looking at their page (unless you're leaving lewd comments or commenting on all of their posts).
Therefore, it's not wrong from a legal perspective, and I don't think it's wrong from an ethical perspective either, because you're not hurting the person. You're more likely to hurt yourself by coming across something that makes you feel bad and worsens your opinion of the person. But, again, as long as you keep your feelings to yourself and don't lash out at the person, I don't see how it's wrong.

[DivideByZero]

Not all people show us their posts, not everyone is so open and no, it can't ruin sh*t if I don't let it ruin it. Social media nowadays is focused on showing off how "well" you live, how "happy" you are etc. If a person is that stupid, to take a part in this "popularity contest" (which they can never actually win), then it's their problem. I've stalked several people in the past, but that's not something I do for fun/creepy reasons and I take precautions to not be stalked on.

[sovetskii13]

If someone is sharing things with me or the public, is it still called "Stalking"? If I was stealing someone's phone to look at texts or whatever, that would be stalking... and wrong. But if it's in the open, I don't see it as "Stalking" or anything wrong.

[bi-mike-95]

yes it is wrong, if you want to know what they are doing just ask or follow them. what happened to the days where everyone spoke face to face instead of this social media. i think it was a lot easier. as chatting online so much makes you loose your social skills.