When Influence Turns Invasive: A Wake-Up Call on Digital Harassment and Misuse of Social Media

In today's digital age, where content creation and personal branding have become a full-time career for many, the line between public engagement and personal invasion is slowly disappearing. This blog is not about calling someone out but about calling out a behaviour that is becoming alarmingly normalized.

Over the past year, I have experienced repeated instances of indirect online harassment and personal targeting by a woman who is both a digital marketer and a social media influencer with over 9,000 followers. While her profile reflects content creation, beauty and lifestyle, several of her posts eerily resemble events and personal aspects of my own life, details that should never have been public, let alone be used as content.

This isn’t the first time I’ve had to deal with this behavior. I’ve taken steps in the past, including filing a Non-Cognizable (NC) complaint and reporting her to Instagram’s security team, hoping that it would put an end to the psychological stress. Unfortunately, the targeted behavior has persisted, not just affecting me, but also those close to me.

It begs the question:
If someone is truly successful, mentally well and confident in their content creation abilities, why obsess over someone else’s life for over a year?

The Growing Trend of Digital Obsession

Social media was meant to empower, inspire and create. However, when it’s misused to stalk, mimic and mentally torment someone, it turns toxic. Whether it’s due to obsession, envy or personal vendetta or worse, if someone is being paid to target another, the consequences for the victim are devastating.

Recently, I went shopping at a mall. Shortly after, this individual posted indirect updates that mirrored my outing, cloaked under the guise of “seminar” or “event” content. This pattern is not only disturbing, but it also raises serious concerns about mental health and the ethics of content creation.

The Need for Stronger Legal and Platform Policies

Unfortunately, Instagram and similar platforms don’t have strong enough enforcement policies to deal with these gray areas of digital harassment unless there is outright abuse or threats. There is no strict law that mandates the suspension of an account forever with that name for using someone else’s life as content, especially when it’s done in indirect or coded language. However, the Indian legal system does have protection provisions:

Relevant Laws in India:

  1. Section 354D of IPC (Indian Penal Code) – Addresses stalking, including monitoring someone's online activity without consent.
  2. Section 66E of the IT Act, 2000 – Prohibits capturing, publishing or transmitting private images of others without consent.
  3. Section 67 of the IT Act – Penalizes publishing obscene or intrusive material in electronic form.
  4. Defamation under Section 499 & 500 of IPC – If someone is indirectly portraying you in a negative light, it could amount to defamation.

While these laws exist, the onus is often on the victim to prove intent, identity and harm, which is challenging when the harassment is subtle, passive-aggressive and spread over time.

Influencers: A Responsibility, Not a License to Invade.

Influencers are trusted voices in the digital world. They hold power, visibility and often shape the opinions of thousands. But when this power is misused to harass, stalk, mimic or mentally attack someone for content, it is nothing short of digital violence.

Being a content creator does not give anyone the right to use another person’s life as their storyline. If anything, it reflects poor creativity and a severe lack of ethics. True creators find inspiration, not targets.

What Needs to Change?

  • Stronger community guidelines on platforms like Instagram to detect and act against persistent indirect harassment.
  • Digital empathy education for influencers and creators.
  • Legal reforms to protect individuals from being used as "content" without consent.
  • Psychological support and intervention when obsession and stalking go unnoticed under the disguise of "engagement."

The digital world needs more accountability, not silence. Until platforms and laws evolve, let’s use our voices to push for the change we deserve.

 

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