Facebook abuse

I've been waiting to hear a story like this one. It completely supports my hypothesis that more than anything, sites like Facebook are stalking mechanisms.

So, a friend of my co-worker Jim has an ex girlfriend he can't quite get rid of. I'm talking a year after they've been broken up she's still constantly contacting him to hang out. Anyway, through what one could assume was an exercise in online stalking, said ex recently discovered that Jim's friend is seeing someone new.

Now, most (normal) people I know would accept this fact and move on. Those who are captivated by the ease of online stalking clearly behave otherwise. The ex used Facebook to send rather nasty messages to Jim's friend's new lady. Seriously?!

My friend Eddie Radshaw contends that Facebook doesn't create stalkers like the ex in question; rather, it empowers them. He reasons that this girl probably also stalks in real-world terms. I'm not so sure I agree with him. Sending an evil Facebook message seems rather innocuous compared with showing up at someone's apartment uninvited, for example.

So does Facebook create stalkers, or does it simply make stalking easier for existing stalkers? As a non-stalker, I'm not so sure. I'm inclined to think that perhaps it does a bit of both...