U R So Creepy

Textual Harassment

Technology provides fast, convenient communication, but at a price. Text messaging is the newest stalking method used by creepy exes everywhere, and the victims foot the bill.

A U.S. Justice Department report found cyberstalking through email or cell phones was used against 23 percent of stalking or harassment victims in 2006.

Philadelphia police said they get calls daily about communication harassment.

Unless you have an unlimited texting plan, at 20 cents per message, being stalked can be costly.

Electronic bullying between women is common, especially in grade school and high school age groups, police said.

For minors, textual harrassment usually doesn't involve police. It gets handled by parents and schools.

Teens who get cyberstalking can get a little relief in the way of humor at thatsnotcool.com.  The site features emailable messages, like “Thank you for the thoughtful text every 10 seconds” or “You’ll be happy to know that the unwanted naughty photo you sent me made me gag,” to send to controlling peers and advice about being electronically abused.

"Thank goodness I have unlimited texting because last month I sent and received over 4,000 text messages... 3,000 of them was from a guy I was dating for 3 months. Notice I said 'was'," one user wrote.

"My friend texts me at least 5 times an hour. His text messages are 3 pages long each... it's overwhelming and annoying. No matter how many times I tell him to back off, he does it anyway. It's gotten to the point where I'm seriously thinking about getting a new phone with a new number," writes another.

Textualharassment.com says if stalking gets serious or threatening, contact police. Document the messages and temporarily disable the text function on the cell.

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