MY YAP: When life gets hard, I just come back to Scratch and fill out such projects. It's nice to look back on my old answers, compare, personalize and crap. :)))) Hell, I'm not trying to be overly emotional over nothing, but this platform meant so much to me growing up. I may not be very active right now--using Scratch on a mobile browser is an absolute pain, and school takes away from my laptop time--but it pops up in my thoughts a lot. I will always be grateful for the growth opportunities I had here After all, the wonderful community helped me escape the homophobic mindset I used to have until 12. Conservative upbringings are no joke, that's for sure! The people I met, the things I learned, everything will stay with me forever. I'm also happy it all happened in a rather safe space. Okay, I spent a lot of time whining about the defunct "bad word detector", and yes, I did see some disturbing images once, but Scratch is still objectively safer than most platforms out there. After detaching myself from Scratch, I explored other sites and made mistakes I shouldn't have made. Ever. I won't elaborate, but let's just say that in my desperation to vent and express my mental issues, I ended up opening to a stranger. One that happened to be, well...older than I had anticipated. It was all blind luck and they had good intentions, I suppose, but that doesn't make any of it okay. It took me one year to gain awareness and realize that "hey, maybe it's not good to send out detailed messages about life drama or mental health issues to a stranger! Especially not to a grown up!!". Horrible. Don't do it, it will only lead to temporary relief, then guilt and anxiety...no matter how "nice" those people seem. Sooo, if any younger children are reading this...NEVER open up to online people about your REAL issues. NEVER. There are many other resources. Find trustworthy adults IRL, such as parents, good teachers or other family members. If you have the possiblity to go to a school counselor, you're comfortable and they're nice...please go for it! Choose close friends, an official hotline, anything BUT what I did. It's suspicious for an adult to write to random minors online, keep that in mind. An adult has NOTHING in common with a teenager and they would never seek out their friendship unless there's something else involved. Sure, perhaps their intentions are pure, but they should be aware that mentaining private corespondence with a minor is wrong nonetheless. The best call for an adult is to give the person adequate resources for their issues, explain what I stated above and CUT. THEM. OFF. Period. Never, never, but NEVER reveal overly identifying information, your detailed schedule (such as the buses you take, what hour you finish school, etc...), or your full name. You never truly know who's behind the screen. Please be careful; if you're younger than 13, don't join any social media beyond Scratch or maybe YT for watching things. Even after 13, be VERY cautious, use nicknames, and NEVER expose intimate aspects of your life. Sure, some casual conversation under your online nickname is fine, but don't take it to an extreme. Complaining about an annoying class or a mildly irritating classmate (without giving out names)? Books you like, some thoughts on spirituality? Sure, normal teenage experiences. But elaborating on your real vulnerabilities, saying your home town? No. No no NO! Make everything private when possible, so you can regulate who gets access and who doesn't (ESPECIALLY if you shared pictures that can hint towards your usual hang-out spots). I guess I wanted to leave this here, in the hopes that someone--anyone--reads it and takes what I said seriously. If I help just one person avoid what I did, I'll be happy. Be safe, guys. Take care of yourself. The internet is NOT something to joke about, especially with gen AI on the rise (I looked up my full name out of curiosity once, using Google. It spewed out my home town and how I'm a "talented young girl". INSANE AND SICKENING).
> @Foxlyn for the original project > Myself for the replies and the warning I've written here. Internet safety is important, so please read if you're young. ...gosh, how I miss the way Scratch felt in 2022-2023 :))))
