Study: 46% of Malaysians Experience Online Stalking From Person They’re Newly Dating

In conjunction with Valentine’s Day yesterday, global cybersecurity and digital privacy company Kaspersky released the findings of its latest survey which revealed shocking data about the extent of digital abuse in Malaysia. 

In the study, it was found that 46% of Malaysians had experienced some form of online stalking from a person they were newly dating.

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Despite that, 47% of Malaysians believe that Googling or checking the social media accounts of a person they had started dating as a form of due diligence is acceptable. Furthermore, 42% of respondents even admitted to doing so when they started dating someone. 

42% of Malaysians experience some form of abuse from their partners

The study also found that people are still vulnerable to an alarming rise in stalking and abuse from risks posed by location settings, data privacy and more broadly, oversharing.

As for the types of abuse, they are varied in our country, with 42% of respondents having reported some form of violence or abuse from a current or previous partner. Furthermore, 19% of respondents had been sent unwanted emails or messages and more concerning is the fact that 18% had been filmed or photographed without their consent. 

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Kaspersky further asserted that 17% of respondents admitted that they had had their location tracked, 15% had their social media accounts or emails hacked and 13% had stalkerware installed on their devices without their consent. 

Besides that, more female respondents (43%) had experienced some form of violence or abuse compared to male respondents (42%). Meanwhile, those in a long-term relationship (17%) had experienced violence or abuse compared to those currently dating (16%).

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Moreover, 44% of respondents said they are worried about the prospect of being stalked online, with female respondents (50%) being slightly more concerned about the prospect than males (38%). 

How to stay safe while dating online

Accordingly, Kaspersky shared some tips to stay safe whilst dating online, which include:

• Keeping passwords to yourself and making sure they are complex and unique
• If it seems too good to be true, it might just be – if in doubt, check!
• Take a moment to check your own digital privacy
• Think before you share – the internet has a long memory and sharing too much too soon can leave you vulnerable
• Create a ‘safe plan’ if you move from digital to the real world
• Consider using a comprehensive cybersecurity or VPN solution to protect yourself

How the survey was conducted

The survey was commissioned by Kaspersky and conducted by Arlington Research between 3 to 17 January 2024.

A total of 21,000 respondents globally were interviewed in 21 countries. Specifically, 1,000 respondents were surveyed in these countries: The UK, Germany, Spain, Serbia, Portugal, The Netherlands, Italy, France and Greece, The USA, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Mexico, Asia-Pacific: China, Singapore, Russia, India and Malaysia.

Furthermore, respondents were aged 16 years and over. All were either in a long-term relationship (62% of the sample), dating someone (16%) or not currently dating/in a relationship but had been in the past (21%).

So, what do you guys think of the survey findings? Share your thoughts with us in the comments.

Also read: M’sian Gets Caught Taking Upskirt Pictures & Videos at KL Mall, Gets Beaten up by Local DJ