9781422288337

Chapter One

Real-Life Stories

K atherine knows about cyberspace safety firsthand. She learned the hard way. Kath- erine shared her story with the Survivor Archives Project. Her story helps warn other people to be safe online. “Once upon a time,” she starts, “I had a great group of friends. They made me laugh, and made me feel loved and accepted. I was sixteen and in my junior year of high school. “Unfortunately in other parts of my life, I was very unhappy. I never talked to my friends about it, because I wanted to enjoy the time I spent with them, not spend it wallowing in self pity.” Katherine turned to the Internet to deal with her sadness. During the summer, she couldn’t see her other friends, and she was stuck at home. She was lonely, and her home life was stressful. She turned to the Internet for comfort. Soon, the people she met online seemed like her friends. Then she met someone in a chat room who made her feel special. He never told her how old he was (although he knew her age), but Katherine didn’t think much about it. She felt f lattered that he was so interested in her, and she confided more and more to him. No one had ever taught her to be careful of meeting strangers online. Soon, her new “friend” was making her pull further and further away from her family. He gave

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