Online Addiction Has No Age Limit (2022) | Project: Bullyish

Stalking has no age limit. Harassment has no age limit. Over the years, I've learned that online harassment can be perpetrated by individuals of any age or level of experience. Age is irrelevant in this context.

While I've noticed, however, is a deep link between certain age groups and online addiction, it's crucial not to underestimate your adversary, as they can be of any size, shape, age, or background.

Indeed, online addiction does not discriminate.

Cyber Crime

As a director whose work often focuses on social integrity, I know that the crime of stalking and harassment holds a uniquely insidious power.

Unlike traditional offenses, it requires neither physical presence nor conventional force to inflict profound psychological damage and incite genuine fear.

In my experience, I have witnessed my family face the systemic exploitation of digital platforms, where content farming for tuition money and other incentives drives grown adults to engage in calculated online stalking (in some cases with gambling online).

Most disturbingly, children as young as 13 are often coerced by these adults to participate in mob mentalities—unaware of the severe psychological and legal consequences of their actions.

Often, families and partners are only given a partial, self-serving narrative by the aggressors, remaining completely oblivious to the depth of the criminal behavior being orchestrated.

We as a people must go beyond treating this as a simple mental health issue; it is a profound societal and legal failing.

Harassment and Fear Across Continents

Still from Project Bullyish Movie

The definition of criminal cyber-harassment is expanding to meet this borderless threat. It's main life, is focusing on the intent and impact of repeated digital conduct, irrespective of physical proximity:

In the United States, federal law, 18 U.S.C. § 2261A concerning Cyberstalking—along with various state statutes, focuses on repeated digital conduct that places a victim in reasonable fear of serious bodily injury or causes substantial emotional distress, often requiring proof of recklessness on the aggressor's part. In the European Union, while legislation like the Digital Services Act (DSA) governs platforms, individual member states enforce criminal codes centered on psychological harassment and online bullying. These European laws emphasize the violation of an individual's personal security and the right to private life.

This global reality demands more than idle commentary; it demands EDUCATION.

PROJECT: BULLYISH.

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