Kiki's Living Hell

A journal entry for "The Girl Who Played with Fire"

By Sabrina Rubin Erdely

     Like any other young teenage girl Kirsten Ostrenga, popularly known as Kiki Kannibal, just wanted people to like her; to think she was cool and social, unlike her shy and reserved composure. However, no matter how innocent the intentions, her life began a spiral downfall. Due to the technological accessibility of this age, it is so easy to get caught up in the internet and think that you're untouchable. This mindset makes people naive as to the dangers of the internet.
     Kiki's road to destruction started small. It started with pictures of her with outrageous hair, and chic "scene" (a collaboration of bright colors and tight clothes) style being posted on MySpace, along with some videos. Not provocative videos, no, but there are some dangerous people out there. That's where the threats and the obsessions started. From comments like, "Can I crash with you? To refresh and reboot?" to, "I'll f****** murder you little girl." And that's not even the worst of it. She wakes up one morning to find "SLUT" painted across her garage. MySpace, nor the cops, could do anything about it. She was trapped. She was raped by her 18 year old boyfriend shortly after her 14 year old birthday. When she broke up with him, he committed suicide.
     Okay, timeout. Where are her parents? They're right there, in the same home. Scott and Cathy Ostrenga were married at the young age of 18, with dreams of law school and musical fame. Instead, they settled for a suburban life in Florida with their three kids: Kyler; Dakota; and Kirsten (Kiki). You can imagine that with their autistic son Dakota, and the fact that they are still kids themselves, they were overwhelmed. They homeschooled their three kids, and had plans for them. Had they no time to be the boundary-giving parents they needed to be? Parenting is hard. But that doesn't mean that their neglect didn't have an affect on Kiki. Now, they have to deal with the harassment that their daughter has brought upon herself, and her family.
     Where is she now? The Ostrengas have filed for bankruptcy, and are being sued by Danny's mother for "causing her son's suicide." Kiki is 18 years old, still dealing with the torment and the terrorizing. However, she is going to college for business and running her own jewelry line. She refuses to disconnect from online for two reasons. First off, she has to run her business. Secondly, without the internet she would have no connections. Outside of cyberspace, she has no real-life relationships. Kiki still pushes through, trudges toward the future in hopes of finding relief from hell on Earth.
     Many kids aren't being taught properly on the true dangers of the internet. Giving just the slightest bit of information can destroy a person. Even more, parents aren't limiting and monitoring their use of the internet. Without these restrictions, it is so easy to get addicted to pornography, online chat-rooms and social networks, and something as simple as a game. Technology is one of, if not the most, useful tool Man has created, but if put in the wrong hands, in can mean total destruction.