Marie was a bright ten-year-old girl with a passion for books and computer games. Her parents had always supported her in pursuing her interests, and so she also had access to the Internet. However, her parents had repeatedly explained to her how important it was to surf the Internet safely. But Marie had never thought that she herself could end up in a dangerous situation.
One day, after coming home from school, Marie sat down in front of her computer to play a new game. She logged into her favorite game and started playing. Soon afterwards, she received a message from a new player called „Max123“.
Max123: „Hey Marie, you’re playing really well! Would you like to chat with me?“
Marie was flattered by the compliment and thought that maybe Max123 was a nice player. She replied: „Thank you! Sure, I like chatting.“
Max123: „How old are you?“
Marie hesitated for a moment, but then she replied: „I’m 10 years old.“
Max123: „Cool, I’m 12. We could be friends. Do you have a picture of yourself?“
Marie was unsure whether she should send a picture of herself, but she didn’t want to be rude. So she sent a picture of herself smiling in front of her school project.
Max123: „You look pretty. Do you want to make more friends in the game?“
Marie felt flattered and nodded in agreement. She enjoyed the game and thought it would be nice to have more friends.
Over the next few days, Marie and Max123 chatted regularly. Max123 seemed nice and they even shared personal stories with each other. But then Max123 began to ask more and more personal questions. He wanted to know where Marie went to school and where she lived. Marie felt uncomfortable with these questions, but she answered anyway.
One day Max123 said: „Marie, I’d like to meet you. We could get to know each other in real life.“
Marie was startled. She had learned that she should never give out personal information to strangers on the Internet. She wrote: „No, that’s not possible. My parents don’t allow that.“
Max123: „Oh, come on, it’s just a meeting between friends.“
Marie became nervous and knew she had to do something. She closed the chat and told her parents about the incident.
Her parents were worried, but also proud of Marie for having acted so wisely. They reported the incident to the police, who were able to track down Max123. It turned out that Max123 was not a twelve-year-old boy, but an adult who wanted to molest Marie.
Marie had learned an important lesson. The internet could be a wonderful place to make friends and have fun, but it was also important to be careful and never give out personal information to strangers. Marie and her parents hoped that her story would also help other children to surf the internet safely and protect themselves from cybergrooming.
Previous Post