There is a limit when it comes ‘researching’ online, right?

So I was browsing through my Instagram search/discovery page and saw a post by someone that I knew I should NOT indulge myself from seeing but I just had too because:

1. My willpower is weak, and

2. I am such a busybody.

So of course,  I went ahead and had a jolly good time browsing in that Instagram page and satisfied my ‘kepoh’ quota for the day. It felt so good but so bad at the same time.

Huge mistake.

The very next day, I came to realize that the person who owns that page, knew that I nosed around his/her Instagram account.

Man down, man down. I felt like throwing myself out the window at that point

I don’t know if I accidentally liked one of the pictures or he/she saw my name as one of the viewers list in the Instagram story  thing for that particular day but safe to say that my ego took a huge downturn that morning and I felt soooooo embarassed. This is why you don’t stalk people! No good ever comes to busybodies. I tried to cheer myself up by making some tea but it didn’t work – until my friend/colleague joined me in the pantry and he started to talk about this whole ‘kantoi’ issue too.

‘Yana, everyone does it, relax, everyone is nosey in their own way, you’re not the only one’

Then it occurred to me, what is the difference between ‘researching’ and ‘stalking’. I found something on Elitedaily.com which made me feel sooo much better and less of a freak  show. Here’s the gist:

1. Stalking is people you don’t know, research is people you do know

2. Stalking is waiting outside their window screen, research is through the computer screen

3. Stalking is all of the time, research is only when you need it

4. Stalking is behind the back, research is to the Face… book 

5. Stalking is LinkedIn, research is Instagram

6. Stalking is following on the street, research is following on Twitter

7. Stalking is consulting no one, research is consulting everyone you know

8.Research is back-stalking three months ago, stalking is back-stalking three months ago and liking it

9. Research is checking someone’s story on Snapchat, stalking is knowing someone’s best friends

10. Stalking is being creepy, research is being prepared

11. Stalking is a crime, research is a pastime

12. Stalking is hiding behind trees, research is hiding behind a username

13. Stalking is looking at their ex from high school, research is stalking their ex from college

14. Stalking is taking pictures, research is looking at pictures

15. Stalking is making yourself feel better, research is making yourself feel worse

We’ve all done it, don’t lie. I know people who if lines are crossed, they can dig things up even better and faster than the CIA.

Just have a limit when it comes to your’ research’. My advice from my embarrassing experience is that it’s only natural for us to be curious, we are humans after all, but don’t push it to the point when you start making ‘research’ to make yourself feel better by making fun of people’s lives. Now that is a big no no.

If you ever get ‘caught’, kena ‘kantoi’, for being somewhere, especially online, where you shouldn’t have been in the first place, don’t be too hard on yourself. It helps to talk about it to a friend, get your frustration out. After that, chances are you’ll be laughing at yourself for what you did.

I, on the other hand, have stayed away from the Instagram search discovery page ever since. Won’t be going in there anytime soon.

All images/GIFs are from Google Image