I had been talking to a guy on Tinder. I'd never met him in person but he had "superliked" me on the app and we both attended the same college. To be polite, I made small talk with him for a few days.

Although the attention was flattering, I wasn't feeling any kind of spark between us. I hated confrontation but I knew it was the right thing to politely cut him off.

Before I could do that, I got a notification- a Facebook friend request. I clicked on the profile, in shock. I recognized that face. It was the guy I had been talking to, except we had no mutual friends and I had never even told him my last name.

"How'd you find me on facebook?," I messaged him, hoping it seemed nonchalant.

"Not too many Asian girls with your hair color on Facebook also named Samantha," he replied. "Anyways, what are you doing?"

Having an online presence is a weird thing. From an early age, we're taught how to properly act- to hold doors open for others, to tip properly, etc. On the contrary, nobody really teaches etiquette lessons for being on the internet. The implications of this have gotten more and more clear with the recent Logan Paul mishap. Sometimes online feels so far removed from real life that boundaries aren't considered.

The incident above was the first, but not the last, time someone had found me on social media and proceeded to message me on Facebook like we knew each other. I don't mind friendly conversation but is not okay. Unfortunately, there's a lot of toxic "relationship goals" posts floating around social media which normalize these kinds of behaviors. A recent post I saw on my timeline urges rejected guys to keep continuing pursuing their romantic interest no matter what the girl says. With this kind of culture, it's easy to see why someone would think it'd be flattering to give someone any type of attention.

However, it's one thing to add someone on Facebook you're friendly with. It's another thing to stalk someone you don't even know.

I know that plenty of people would say it's my fault for "putting myself out there" but that's nonsense and victim-blaming. If a home was broken into, the owners aren't told it was their problem they were rich. This has happened with virtually every social media app I've used. I'm not going to stop my life just because of a couple assholes. If we all did that, we'd have to never talk to anyone again.

Although I've utilized the block button plenty, I'm tired of being quiet about this kind of behavior. It's not flattering, it's just creepy. I know I'm not just speaking for myself when I say please stop.