Do you think that narcissists only take selfies and are always self-absorbed about their looks and adulations? Then, you are deceiving yourself. A narcissist is doing more than that. They are most often bullying, teasing, harassing, and, yes, stalking their ex in cyberspace. Does your narcissist social media stalking disturb you?
According to the latest study, these online bullies demonstrate high degrees of psychopathy and sadism. According to Dr. Golbeck, these cyberbullies are narcissists, psychopaths, and sadists.
Table of Contents
How do you know if someone gives constructive criticism online or is a narcissistic troll?
- The people who want to provide constructive criticism won’t get offended if you disagree with their ideals. They certainly won’t launch a personal attack on the character; instead, they would thoughtfully consider every side of the debate without the unnecessary name-calling or the condescending manner of commenting.
- Narcissists may make many fake accounts to support themselves online and harass others when they don’t get the response they want, even form triangulation to demean those whom they want to provoke.
- When you don’t give attention to such malicious online people, they take that as an insult, just like narcissists in real life can’t tolerate being ignored. They may follow you online everywhere because you moved forward in life.
What causes a narcissist to stalk you?
Narcissist exes tend to return and keep a tab on you through your social media accounts. This can happen if you
– The narc is bored
– You have become more attractive
– Their current supply has lost its shine and has become dull in their eyes.
– You have become quite successful in life
– For the simple reason that you are happy in your life.
What will a narcissist do by stalking you online?
Your profile may not be secure; sometimes, even if they are secure, people can still extract your profile photos or some other random detail through many online sites.
To Provoke
These narcs like to provoke people and derive pleasure by bullying people online, which they otherwise can’t do elsewhere. They lack compassion and empathy and want to be recognized and paid attention to.
For Mirroring
Narcissists will search for your profile online on various social media sites and look for all the things, your likes, and your dislikes. Then, they will try to mirror those habits.
For the smear campaign
the narc would post all sorts of sob stories, trying to prove to the world how they have been wronged and how the person they loved took advantage of their affection. People would start offering their sympathies and cursing the real victim.
To harass
after your breakup with the narc, he would start stalking all your social media handles and start making fake accounts through which they would post hateful comments for their ex.
Sense of right and wrong
The flying monkeys of the Narcissist will then reach out to you online or offline and try convincing you to give the narc another chance, how they are repenting, what a mess their life is in your absence, how the narc has changed. Some may even tell you that you just misunderstood the person, how it’s just circumstances working against that person. You start to wonder if you are doing the right thing. Is it the right way?
How are victims affected by Narcissist social media stalking?
Psychological Toll
The victims of Narcissist social media stalking feel distressed. This may cause them to become fearful, and if online harassment continues, it may lead them to become anxious and depressed, affecting their overall well-being.
Disruption of Daily Life
The continuous interference in the life of the ex-partner of the Narcissist hinders their ability to behave normally in their day-to-day activities. The flurry of emails with unwarranted comments violates a person’s privacy boundaries.
What are the protective measures that can be taken against Narcissist social media stalking?
Don’t give your Narcissist ex any form of attention
It would help if you avoided them. Keep the screenshots as proof and then block them and make no contact with them.
Block your Narc ex on social media:
It would help if you didn’t go through your ex’s profile. Narcissists manipulate their online image in a certain way to project themselves as the victim, the charmer, or the happy-go-lucky fellow. They can easily manipulate people. Also, do not entertain any profile that you think or suspect to be fake. The narcs have this habit of having multiple social media accounts. If necessary, report these accounts to the website managers. All the websites have some ways where you can report bullies.
Change the passwords
Different social media sites or forums have different sets of privacy rules. Follow those to protect yourself. It is necessary to change all social media passwords because you never know when your narcissist ex may have snooped and gathered all your passwords when you were in a relationship. Change them to something that can’t be guessed by anyone.
Cybersecurity Measures
In an age dominated by digital interactions, safeguarding online presence is crucial. Do not share your passwords with anyone, not your friends and indeed not your family members, for you never know who might be a flying monkey for your narcissist ex.
Seeking Legal Redress
Restraining orders, cease and desist letters, and if a narcissist stalker in his obsessive pursuit against the victim violates the state’s anti-bullying laws, report them to law enforcement agencies. The victim of the narcissist stalking must know their legal rights as citizens of the country.
Conclusion on Narcissist social media stalking
Don’t get disheartened; raise your voice even louder if your narcissist ex is trying to tear you down. Surround yourself with the people who really care for you. Unfortunately, many people support these types of people by being their enablers online or victim blame and advocates for these types of people. Remember that you do not deserve to be bullied or harassed online, even by someone you don’t know, let alone your narcissistic ex. Please don’t believe that their hoovering and obsessing over you shows their affection. It’s your right to a life free from fear of getting disrespected on forums, blogs, or social media.
Reference
https://psychcentral.com/health/sociopath-traits
Dr Amit Sharma is a Doctor and writer with a particular interest in mental health. He helps individuals by combining practical advice with emotional support.