By: Rania M M Watts 

I’ve always been a fan of comic books, more specifically DC and the endless subterfuge that typically accompanies a superhero on any given day. However, when it happens in real life the context is extremely different. Nothing is as seen on television, EVER! 

I have to admit, when I studied Cybercrime last year I became very excited.  I mean to the point that I actually giggled and said to my husband “next week our topic is Cybercrime – Wohoo!” 

The reason being, I find the characteristics of these web-based crimes-  which can impact anyone globally via Cybercrimes – to be fascinating. 

This is the one crime where the victim does not necessarily need to reside in the same area as their offender. To be able to facilitate: Phishing scams, Identity theft, Online harassment, Cyberstalking, and Invasion of Privacy from anywhere in the world. It makes the chain snail mail of the 80’s & 90’s look like a twisted joke.  

Our world used to be tiny. Instant communications back then used to be: fax, telex, or telegram. Now, civilization has the capacity to send a letter to anyone in the world via email.  The internet has literally changed everything and some things are not necessarily for the better. As with all innovations some individuals always find a way to criminalize it and prey on those vulnerable sectors of society. 

When contemporary social media was introduced to the world, it opened a whole new door for passive predators to walk through. From the comfort of their own home they had the capacity to watch, contact, and connect with their victims. Once trust has been established is when all of the annihilation starts to come to fruition.  

In all honesty, stalking, bullying and scams have always been around. For every good that we have achieved through modern day technology it has also opened a host of more problems that also span international law – as in the case with Amanda Todd.

This does not only impact the individual victims, but also society, with regards to so many factors which include: privacy, socioeconomic, issues surrounding mental health and recovery from incidents.  

As in Amanda Todd’s case, there was no recovery. She was not allowed to forget what had happened to her. For a child to be that young and desire to kill themselves is, in my opinion, extremely tragic. The girl did not even have a chance.  

I can’t imagine all of those individuals who berated Amanda and actually taunted Amanda to kill herself. I can’t think of anything more cruel to do to a child.

Any personal opinions expressed in this blog solely belong to the author Rania Watts and not the Practitioner advertised in this website or social media.

https://www.amandatoddlegacy.org

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/cyberbullying-documentary-todd-1.5757137

https://globalnews.ca/news/7622978/amanda-todds-accused-cyberbully-extradited-canada/