Think Before You Post
Alicia Kozakiewicz was 13 years old when she decided to meet a boy she has been chatting with on the internet. Alicia thought that the boy she said she "knew" was her age and harmless, but she couldn't have been more wrong. On New Years Eve Alicia went out of her home to meet the mysterious boy, she had been waiting down her block when she finally decided he was not coming seeing that she had not seen a boy calling her name or seem like they were looking for something. Just as she was walking back someone called her name but when she turned around to look she wasn't expecting to see a man much older than her and grabbing her forcefully. The man was dragging her to his car and put her in the back seat, Alicia tried to get away but feared that her life would be taken if she had. They went from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Virginia were the mans home was located. Once they got there the man had her take her clothes of and put some sort of dog collar on. From there she was raped, beaten, tortured and this had gone for 4 days straight. Alicia lost all hope of being free when suddenly FBI's had come to the house she was currently stuck in and saved her. The FBI found her by someone recognizing Alicia through a video that the abductor had taken of him beating her and posting it on the internet. This horrible experience made Alicia have a goal in life, to protect other children from making the same mistake she did and many others.
Alicia's choices that she had made when deciding to meet the boy was not the best. She did not think about the consequences that would come when talking to the stranger. Alicia should have asked herself, "is this safe?", "is he lying about who he is?". She was not taking care of her well being and went with the decision to keep talking to the boy. Immediacy, Permanence, and Lack of control all have a place in this story. Immediacy would be that Alicia had automatically wanted to meet him without thinking about her actions and where this choice would lead her. Permanency is that Alicia would always remember the torture she went through from making the decision to meet someone from the internet. Lack of control is when the man took her and recorded all of things he did to her and posted them online. When you are online remember to think before you post.
Link to story: http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35730298
Comments
No comments have been posted yet.
Log in to post a comment.