How to Rid Your Online Social Life of Annoying Family Members

Is your life riddled with the disruption, heartache, mental and emotional pain from family members or frenemies who have nothing better to do than harass, stalk and annoy you? You do have a choice in who is in your life, especially on-line, even if they are 'family'. None of us are able to choose which family we belong too. Many people find themselves surrounded by family who, if you met on the street in everyday life, would not be a part of your inner circle. This includes but is not limited to- religious freaks and fanatics, child abusers and unfit parents, busybodies, emotional vampires, drug & alcohol addicts/abusers, holier than thou, guilt tripping 'know it alls', power and control freaks, ignorant bigots, n'er do wells, selfish, self-centered, rude family who have no place in your life or business. Do you have a selfish family member that only contacts you when they need something and have no regard for your own personal well being that you are tired of, drained by and would be happy to be rid? Well then we are in the same boat. And trust me, you are better off without their influence in your life. I know I have been freed of the tyranny of small minds and endless stupefying wonders of people who should not be allowed to breed. But I digress.

These easy steps will help you eradicate these people from your life once and for all for good. In this day and age of email, social networking, on-line forums and groups you will find it freeing to delete and block these people who have no interest other than themselves and their myopic view of the world. Social networking sites like myspace and facebook make it simple and easy to delete and block the offending party from viewing your information and updates, leaving you free from the prying eyes of unwanted looky-loos. You can find 'block user' buttons on the person's page you wish to refrain from communication and with a simple click of the button, you are resolved of the burden they have proved. It is that easy. Check your social networking account settings to make sure your photo albums, updates and pages are set to 'friends only' to insure none of your information is under the scrutiny of people who have no permission to be there viewing your information.

Email providers like gmail, yahoo, hotmail, etc., give the option of bouncing any offending emails back to the sender to let them know their mail is unwanted, going unread and undelivered. Check your specific provider's instructions in your account settings to effectively block and deny the offender's ability to send you anymore email. Respond back to unwanted email communications saying you no longer wish to receive any mail from said party. If they continue to send emails after you have requested them not to, you can file harassment/stalking charges to stop the harassment. Believe it or not, email harassment is illegal . Report abuse to the user's Internet provider and mark their mail as spam to give the provider the heads up of the misuse this person is operating under. This can put them in the embarrassing and uncomfortable position of having to make a new account and contact all their friends, family and associates of their new email, which can be quite time consuming and a personal embarrassment.

Law enforcement agencies estimate that electronic communications are a factor in 20 percent to 40 percent of all stalking and harassment cases. If you are being harassed or stalked via email or social networking sites, you have options. If you know who the person sending you the emails is, first contact the sender's ISP (Internet Service Provider) and make a complaint, which can result in this person losing their email account, and sets up a trail of evidence. Keep all the emails sent to you as further evidence. If there are threats of violence or of a sexual nature, you should contact your local law enforcement agency immediately, because this can constitute a crime. Social networking sites have a 'report user' or 'flag' button on individual profiles to use to report specific people to the site for further investigation and termination of accounts being used to harass and stalk.

Some areas do not have specific laws that cover email harassment or cyberstalking. However, previously existing laws covering stalking and harassment are often applicable to cyberstalking. You can get a complete list of state laws that apply to email harassment and cyberstalking. www.ncsl.org/programs/lis/cip/stalk99.htm

As we have heard, cyber-bulling and stalking can lead to depression, loss of quality of life and even suicide. Don't let yourself fall victim to these real threats by being proactive with your on-line use. On-line harassment and cyberstalking is illegal and punishable. You do not have to tolerate these behaviors. By taking these easy steps, you can find the peace you want from unwanted people in your life today. You will be amazed how these simple steps will free you from unwanted on-line contact and give you peace of mind and a sense of proactively responding on your own behalf in the best interest of you and your family. Life is too short to be surrounded by fools and the Internet makes it all to easy to put these people to rest once and for all. I highly recommend freeing yourself from those who you are better off without which leads to a better quality of life and great personal satisfaction.