By Avantika Chopra February 15, 2023
American actor Penn Badgley was quite shocked to find out that women around the world were romanticizing Joe Goldberg, the character he plays on the Netflix thriller series You.
Replying to multiple tweets on the microblogging platform, Badgley tried to warn the fans who were attracted to the idea of a “creepy stalker” and serial killer. However, Badgley is not the only one trying to warn individuals of digital stalking With the release of the You season 4 of the series, cybersecurity experts are warning viewers to watch out for digital stalking and to stop romanticizing the concept of a stalker and serial killer.
— Christina Jankowski Senior External Relations Manager at Kaspersky.
While stalking, online and offline, is a criminal offence. However, series such as You may create a form of sympathy among viewers, which can justify such obsessive behavior and dilute the gravity of the issue. A recent report released by Kaspersky highlighted a stalkerware, a commercially available software which was often used in abusive relationships that enabled the perpetrators to track individual and their private life without their knowledge. In 2022, over 29,312 people were affected by stalkerware.
— Karen Bentley CEO, WESNET .