Hey people, I just wanna get serious here for a minute. I cannot emphasize enough how much children and even teens need to be monitored by trusted individuals while they’re online. This is so serious. Kids and teens are being lured into dangerous situations through online platforms, and especially through online gaming. A girl from my state disappeared a month ago, leaving her phone at home and leaving on her own accord with a 30-something year old man she met through online gaming. Yesterday they found her body in another state. She was 17. You cannot believe everything you’re told by people you meet online. They don’t always have your best interest at heart. Sometimes they’re even really dangerous. When you are in online spaces, you need to exercise extreme caution, especially if you’re a minor. And if you are a minor, then someone needs to be monitoring you. These situations happen because some people are seriously messed up, and because other people think “that could never happen to me.” But it does happen. That girl left behind her cell phone and was lured from her home by a stranger who was twice her age, and now she’s dead. If anything good can come from such a tragedy, I hope it’s that people try to make smart choices and stay safe online. You never know who’s out there. And if someone online is talking to you, you should tell a trusted adult. I know that not every stranger you meet online is bad, but some are, and you just have to be careful out there.
