Social Media
Technology has become a powerful weapon in the hands of abusers, enabling them to inflict pain on victims without having to be physically present. The effects of tech abuse can be as devastating and destructive as any other form, leaving lasting scars on survivors.
Imposters may aim to confuse your connections by pretending to be you, commenting on posts or sending inappropriate messages. They could even target those close with you – friends, family and organisations — in an attempt to spread false information about yourself or leave degrading lies.
Another common form of abuse carried out on social media is ‘tagging’, when someone tags you in an image or a post, so that your social media profile becomes associated, often without you knowing about it.
If you’re not careful, social media can be a powerful tool for someone to track your every move. Posts that you and others share unknowingly could give away more information than intended, ultimately leading to cyberstalking or compromising relationships.
Done with malice, abusers can deliberately target individuals to mis-represent, harass and exploit them.
Surveillance
Abusers can use a variety of tools to keep tabs on their victim’s whereabouts, from home security tech to Airtags and more. Some may be sly in monitoring survivors’ activities while others could be blatant about it.
Virtual Assistants
Virtual or home assistants like Alexa and Google Home are cleverly disguised tools that can easily access your contacts, calendar information, online orders, messages – even snoop into what you’re searching on the Internet. Plus they link to 3rd party apps – making them an essential part of a connected digital life!
What’s more, they can also be used as intercoms, listening, and audio and video recording devices.
Sexting and revenge porn
Tech abuse takes many forms and one worrying trend is the malicious sharing of intimate or sexual images and videos. These abuses come in two varieties:
- Sext re-posting: sending, receiving, or forwarding sexually explicit messages, photographs, or videos of another person without consent.
- Revenge porn: sharing private sexual materials online or offline without consent for the purpose of causing harm or distress.
Tech abusers are taking sext re-posting and revenge porn to a whole new level in order to demean or degrade their victims. Not only do they have the ability to upload images of you directly onto publicly accessible websites, but also share those same photos with anyone from friends and family, all the way up to colleagues through messaging apps or emails – even physically showing them an image on their devices!
Support for survivors of tech abuse
Even those with limited technical savvy can use common, inexpensive technology to cause harm. As advancements in digital devices and services improve rapidly, abusers gain access to a growing arsenal of sophisticated tools with which they are able to inflict harm more effectively than ever before.
What remains constant is the lasting impact on survivors’ lives, often with far-reaching personal consequences.
Contact Lund Bennett for more support and advice for anyone suffering due to tech abuse, with practical steps to improve online safety and secure your technical devices.