I'm sure most people know what Google Plus is. It's the social networking site made by Google. You can add people to different categories, called circles. You can +1 posts that you like and reshare posts so other people can share them. I know this because I used to use Google Plus. I don't anymore.
Not after what happened to me.
My name is Jim. I first heard about Google+ when looking through my email. I noticed a new email under the "Social" tab. I didn't have any social network accounts, so I had no idea what it was. "How did I get a Social email if I haven't used it to sign up for anything?" I wondered. Not knowing what to expect or what was in store for me, I clicked on the email.
It was an automatic email from Google. My friend Kevin was inviting me to join Google Plus. I decided to join. I had fun creating my account, editing my profile, adding other people that I knew. Everything was going just fine. I had just finished making my account, my first journey into the world of the Internet. Then, I decided to look for communities.
Since I was new, I just decided to follow the popular communities, like ones for funny or relatable posts. As I scrolled through the communities I had just joined, I saw a post that caught my eye. It said this:
guy:im sorry but i have to break up with u
girl:why???
guy:your really ugly and i could never love a girl with scars like u, i only dated u cause i felt sorry that nobody would ever love u
girl:*crys and runs away*
girl:nobody loves me, i should just die......
girl:*kills herself*
RESHARE TO 3 COMMUNITIES IF U ARE AGAINST BULLYING IGNORE AND SHE WILL KILL U TONITE
I looked at all the reshares on the post. How could so many people reshare a post that was so obviously spam? I couldn't believe it. I scrolled some more. The community was completely filled with this garbage. Ignore and have relationship problems for four years. Ignore and your mom will die soon. Ignore and the Charmanders' tails will go out. Ignore for Justin Bieber. Ignore for Satan. Ignore if you had no childhood. Why were so many people desperate for +1s and reshares and why was everyone so gullible? It disgusted me. Since it was almost 10:00, I decided to go to sleep.
I think it was 2:00 in the morning when I awoke with a jolt to a noise downstairs. It wasn't loud, but I could hear it clearly.
''Thump. Thump.''
It sounded like it was coming from near the staircase. Fearing that a thief had broken into my home, I grabbed my cell phone and dialed 911.
There was no signal. I heard the noise again, slightly louder this time:
''Thump. Thump.''
Now I was really scared. I was alone in the house with an intruder and I had no means of contacting the outside world. Maybe, I thought, I could go back to sleep, let the burgler work, then report a break-in the next day.
''Creeeeak.''
The intruder was on the first step. I tried to fall back asleep, but I couldn't. I just laid there, eyes wide open, praying silently that whoever was in my house wouldn't come in my room. It wasn't a good time to remember that I had ignored for Satan.
"I'm sorry..."
It was a male voice. The intruder sounded like he might have been sixteen or seventeen. More creaks. He was slowly walking up the stairs.
"...but I have to break up with you."
Wait, was he talking on the phone? I wouldn't know from experience, but talking on the phone seems like a stupid thing to do when trying to remain unnoticed.
"Why?"
It was the voice of a girl, clear as day. There were two people here. But why did I only hear one person walking up the stairs? It just didn't make any sense.
"You're really ugly, and I could never love a girl with scars like you. I only dated you because I felt sorry that nobody would ever love you."
I ''froze''. This was the same conversation that took place in that post I had seen earlier. The girl was sobbing. It sounded closer.
"Nobody loves me... I should just die..."
The intruder was at the top of the stairs now, right in front of my door. I was paralyzed with fear.
My door opened. The girl stepped in. Her face was completely white. She had long, black hair. She wore a gray hoodie with a large reddish-brown spot. Most importantly, ''she was holding a knife''.
"You hate me too..."
She walked over to my bedside.
"You should have reshared."