Anyone who has found themselves to be the subject of unwanted attention can know how uncomfortable and stressful this can be.
We talk about letting people live their own lives and so make their own mistakes and learn from them in our post entitled "Break Time Quickie - Adopt the French approach of "Laissez Faire" to StressBust™".
But we live in a society in which certain people regrettably revel in the misfortune of others, whereas other people can become obsessed by what they perceive to be scandal; and when not in control of a full set of facts for any reason, people can unfortunately often make 2 plus 2 equal 6.
Social media, in its turn, means information and opinions, however valid, can be dispersed globally in seconds and sit there for a person's lifetime and beyond.
This is, for example, the case with online "naming and shaming". It is beyond the ambit of a stress management tool such as StressBustingExpert™ to comment on the legality of this; but suffice to say that it seems to afford public access rights in some non criminal matters that extend beyond the spent length of some serious criminal convictions, which appears on its face difficult to reconcile with the rules of proportionality, human rights and privacy.
But whilst privacy laws try to catch up with the emergence of the internet as the world's newest main communication channel, and the related immediate global spread of information, they still have a long way to go.
So how do you StressBust™ being the centre of unwanted or unsolicited attention pyhsically or remotely as a result of information posted online or elsewhere?
Well there are a number of important things to remember as follows:-
● nobody is entitled to sit as Judge and Jury on your actions, other than a Judge or Jury. The court of public opinion can be harsh and cruel, but it is ultimately nothing more than that - mere opinion
● over zealous or excessive interest in others on a person's part can say more about what is fundamentally lacking in their own lives than that of the target of their interest; remember, everyone has something in their life that looking back they wish they had done differently, or are disappointed or embarrassed by, whether they admit it or not - see our post entitled "Break Time Quickie : Open the Door to Imperfection – it can be Liberating as well as Stressbusting™" - and focusing on others can simply be them transfering their own denial on to someone else, as is further elucidated in our post entitled "The Dangers of Denial to StressBusting™"
● if you are patient enough and do not rise or engage, interest will in most cases decline naturally. So extremely difficult though it can be when you feel under attack, try not to marinate too much in the drama; today's newspapers truly are tomorrow's fish and chip papers, in the sense that news becomes old news quickly if you can weather the initial storm; but this may require the use of coping techniques by you and others affected, e.g. family members, such as those contained in our posts entitled "Stressbusting™ Techniques to Manage & Calm Overwhelm", "Break Time Quickie – Disperse Aggression with an Ancient Technique" and "The Value of Morning "Stretchbusting™"".
● if, despite you refusing to engage or having politely requested that the prying stop but to no avail, your personal life, business life, history or space is still being unduly invaded by others, be aware there are legal rights of action against conduct amounting to, for example, harassment, coercion, malicious falsehood and defamation that you are entitled to access; and do not be afraid to consult a specialist or the authorities to help you do so if any continued invasion becomes unbearable, oppressive or unhealthy to you and/or those close to you.
Love,
LouLoU™&MikeyM™😊😍😎🧡💛💕 xxxx
NB We are, as always, keen to hear readers' thoughts and shared experiences on the above via our "Contact" page.
Please consult our "Legal Notices" page for information on the limited nature and basis of opinions contained in our posts.