foursquare, formspring, fatal attraction
Have you ever had a stalker? I have and I say, “No Bueno!” Stalkers are twisted creatures and with the current abundance of online resources, their “jobs” (scary!) have become much easier. Now, the latest tools in their arsenal are upon us: Foursquare and Formspring. Being someone that likes to take up the latest techno-trends and make them my own is becoming harder. Half the people I “know” online are dishing their every move via Foursquare and answering this or that question on Formspring.
Unlike Foursquare that I find intriguing, I think Formspring is just stupid. I mean, if someone wants to ask you a question, why don’t they just ask you? Why does it need a public format? Isn’t that what Twitter DM, Facebook messages and emails provide–a forum for ask and tell? Anyway, I digress. By displaying all the question and answer business on Formspring, stalkers VERY easily amass all the information they need to pry into your life. Of course, how much you answer is up to you, but any shred of info about yourself is a potential misstep. Unless you ARE a stalker, you probably don’t think like one, so your seemingly innocent info leak might do more harm than you ever realize.
Then there’s Foursquare. If ever there was a stalker’s dream, it MUST be this one. The stalker just arrived at your home (because you foolishly “checked in” at home) but they find that you’re not there–just missed you! However, your next post is where you’re having dinner. Most people spend about an hour or more at any given restaurant, right? You’ve just made yourself a sitting duck. While you wait for your General Tso’s Chicken to make it’s way to your table, your stalker has made their way to the restaurant. Brilliant! Every place you go and “check in” is like dropping another bread crumb on the information trail, a crumb that’s easily followed by your would be assailant. See what I mean?
Of course, you never know what motivates someone to stalk another person. That sad and lonely individual usually needs major psycho-therapeutic help. You might feel impervious to the onslaught of the chemically imbalanced and think it will never happen to you, but you never know. Celebrities have more than their fair share of nut-jobs chasing after them (or maybe that’s just the papparazzi…or BOTH!). One reason they have that attraction is the accessibility to their image (and life) in the media. The stalkers feel like they have some bizarre sort of connection to them. Formspring and Foursquare is giving that same accessibility to EVERYONE. All it takes is to cross the path of the pathological and you’re in their sites with a bullseye on your back. I don’t feel like I’m missing out on Formspring, but Foursquare looks fun. Their website states: ‘Foursquare on your phone gives you & your friends new ways of exploring your city.’ Who wouldn’t want to explore their city in a new way? BUT, it also gives stalkers a new way to explore YOUR world…intimately. Be wary of what you put out there–you don’t wanna come home to a boiling pot of your beloved pet, à la Fatal Attraction.
