Journals
Thursday,Jun 8 2006, 01:47:13 AMIs "SexySuzy19" really a 55 yr old man?
Recent developments on MySpace have cast a shadow on my overall enjoyment of online communications. I initially got on MySpace because I, and my entire family, lost our homes to hurricane Katrina, and were scattered all over the country. The kids in the family came up with the idea of keeping in touch and sharing photos through MySpace. That's how it all got started.
Being a writer, and unemployed special education aide (no schools to work at down here), I also found enjoyment in visiting the pages of writers and poets. That's how I became acquainted with the MySpace profile of Silver-Jouie Goy. A writer/music promoter friend I had been communicating with referred me to her page. After reading her profile and blog, I came to believe, as everyone else did, that she was a young woman who had a life-threatening illness, was a virgin, and because of her failing health, wanted to lose her virginity before she died. yeah, when it's all said in one sentence, it reeks of "hoax". But this chick-or-dude was smart. You'll see what I mean in a minute.
She started off shy and not giving out too much information. She hinted at an illness. She even had "friends" planted within her game who helped her to appear to be a real person. Her "best mate" was a Dorota Dinte; her "brother" was Copper-Jacob Goy. Both Dorota and Copper also communicated with Silver's growing list of friends, visited their blogs, commented on them.
Then, the sweet shy Silver announced to one of the real people on her friends list that she was very ill, and wanted to lose her virginity, but because she had had no experience of any kind, she didn't know how to go about meeting people and getting advice. This real friend suggested she post her intentions in her blog, and talk about her journey into sexuality. He assured her that most people would be willing to give her advice, keep her from hooking up with creeps, etc. Thus started "The Virgin Diaries".
When she began to blog her first experiments with intimacy, the blog caught on like a fire. Thousands of people viewed and commented. I observed, never commenting myself. I was uncomfortable with some of the details she shared, but impressed that a young woman would be so open about it. I was even more impressed with the coments posted after each chapter. Here were people from all over the world, encouraging her, consoling her, giving advice. These real people built friendships with "Silver", sending messages, talking about many things other than sex, the every day things that friends chat about. A few of them became very attached to this person.
Then, just before she was supposed to meet an online male friend and lose her virginity, she "died".
Her fake family announced the death on her blog, thanked the many people who helped her through her "final days", and announced that there would be no funeral, just a service at her home in Buckingham. The young woman supposedly lived in the UK. They even sent a recorded "final message" to one of her most loyal online supporters. In lieu of flowers, they said, "Silver" wanted money sent to one of her favorite charities...a name and address were given for the charity.
MySpace filled up with sadness, memorial blogs, a great sense of loss among her admirers. I felt so bad for my friend who had become so close to her. Then, things got fishy.
Her profile was shut down a couple of days later. Then, so were Dorota's and Copper's. People who had attempted to find some news in the local papers of her death found nothing. None of the people involved in the scam were in any directories; Google only referred you to her shut down MySpace profile.
Silver had referred a friend to Zorpia. She has a profile on here, still up and running. Apparently, she did not get the attention on Zorpia that she got on MySpace. I've written to her, posted comments on her page, no response yet. I've written to some people on her 'friends' list. One replied that he had added her as a friend, but had not corresponded with her. None of the others responded to me.
I posted the story on several forums. No one has replied
This scam was intelligent, complex, intriguing and entertaining. But it was also morally corrupt, because, while they were playing a game, the people who opened their hearts to "Silver" are REAL PEOPLE, WITH REAL FEELINGS. Some of them have had to experience grief twice: first, on the event of her "death", and then, on the event of the second death, the knowledge that "Silver" was never real. Now, her large list of friends are suspicious of each other: "Was it him? Did he put up this profile?" "Was it her? She seemed to have a lot of comments on Silver's blog". It's a messed up circus now, with no one knowing who to trust.
I have no problem with friends participating in role playing games online, pretending to be someone else to see what kind of people will respond, and to find amusement in the kind of responses they get. What I object to are people like "Silver" and her buddies who use something as emotionally provocative as illness and death to draw good, kind, caring people in just to laugh at them.
While I'm online just for a good read, a good conversation with someone, a good laugh (there are so many funny people on MySpace!), many, MANY people are online because they are lonely, isolated, need a friend. I don't like to see people like that hurt.
Now, I'm wondering who I'm chatting with. Is "Tommy" from Ontario really a middle aged housewife from Iowa just having fun with people? Is "SexySuzy19" really a 55 year old slob named Bubba jerking the guys around while he and his buddies sit back with a beer and laugh their asses off?
Since I have my own man (damn sexy, too), and am more interested in reading a person's writing and poetry than forging meaningful relationships with people I will never meet, I don't give a rat's ass if that poem by "Lola" is really a poem by "Larry", so long as it's a good poem and catches my attention. But those of you who allow yourselves to become emotionally involved with the people you meet online, just remember to see it for what it is: a tool. If it is your only means of meeting people and having any kind of intimacy, you need to get out more. Or buy some more tools.
Be careful, my friends. We hide behind the anonymity of the internet. Most of us are good people, and would make damn good friends/lovers/mates. But then there are those who will play you for a fool, and destroy your faith in people.
Enough said. Just wanted to share. ~ Rhonda
