With the rise of social media comes the dreaded negative interactions with internet creeps.

I’ve encountered my fair share of them in the past. But one ordinary day last year, I had an unsettling encounter with someone who had malicious intentions. I’m an active Instagram user with a few hundred followers. I typically post about one to two times per month, sharing significant events in my life or simply random moments. On that particular day, I had just returned from a Braves game and was en route to Six Flags White Water. It had been an amazing day, and I was looking forward to more fun when I received a message request from someone I hadn’t met before.

My account wasn’t set to private, which meant anyone could view my posts and access personal information that I have shared. The offender had visited my account, where they saved a few of the photos I had posted. They combined these images with random explicit images of other people, likely pulled from the internet, creating an unsettling collage. Subsequently, they threatened to share their creation with all my followers unless I sent them $50 via CashApp. I started to panic.

I didn’t want to pay the perpetrator, but I also didn’t want the threat to come true. People might believe those photos were mine. In response, I posted screenshots of our conversation on my story to show everyone that the images were not of me, just in case the perpetrator decided to follow through.

In the end, as far as I know, they only sent the image to one person, and he was extremely confused about the entire ordeal. I was shocked that this was a seemingly random stranger off the internet. The sick thing about it is that they had to have known I was a minor. They were completely alright with spreading child pornography across the internet. Due to the extreme stress I had during the time, I had taken a step back from social media and made my account private. Now, I only accept requests from people I know or users with two or three mutual friends.

That same day of the incident, a few people reached out to me and said the same exact thing happened to them, either from someone random that they talked to for a few days, or just someone they had never connected with beforehand. My friends simply blocked them and everything was fine, but they still were nervous that the fake photos would still be shared.

Today, I think of what I could’ve done differently and what would have happened if the situation escalated. When I thought that the photos were going to be shared, I went down a rabbit hole on how to make sure the photos were removed, who to contact, and if a proper investigation could be carried out, since this was sexual blackmail of a minor. My friends told me to call the police, file a case, and allow the authorities to take over. I honestly didn’t think it was that big of a deal because after I blocked the person, I have not had any problems.

I didn’t tell my parents for a number of reasons. The biggest one was that I don’t think that anything good would come out of that. If I involved my parents, the situation would be exaggerated and create more stress for me. I likely would be deemed too immature to be on the internet. Also, the entire situation was embarrassing at the time, and I think it would be for other people, too.

While I do feel I had support from adults in my life, many teens all across the world lack adequate support. I wonder if that’s the main reason why so many teens are targeted; they might be afraid to speak up. According To a 2023 VOX Teen Survey, almost one out of every five teen participants responded “No” to the question, “Do you have a caring adult to confide in who won’t judge you if you express your feelings?” These teens, more than likely, would’ve done as I did and attempted to figure it out alone.

The word to describe this kind of blackmail is “sextortion,” and it’s extremely common. One example is when someone obtains a person’s sexual images, or in my case makes fakes, and then gives them an ultimatum for what could happen. This phenomenon has led to an increase of mental health issues involving youth. According to ABC news,  Jordan DeMay, a 17-year-old from Marquette, Michigan, took his own life after three men, who coerced him into sending a nude photo, demanded he pay them $1,000, and then cruelly taunted him as he told them he would complete suicide.

My entire ordeal came across as a get-money-quick scheme by targeting a vulnerable individual. It doesn’t matter who they message, because if their target doesn’t comply, all the extortionist has to do is move on to the next innocent person. Everyone I have spoken to who has experienced creeps telling them to use CashApp to send them a large sum hasn’t sent money and hasn’t had these images spread.

But I experienced this and don’t wish to again. I am now more aware of what is happening on the internet and have taken steps to stay safe. I switch my account back and forth between public and private, depending on the interactions I have and whether it feels safe. I sometimes receive messages from accounts that are “bots”and block those immediately, or block the accounts of friends who have been hacked. I am mindful of what I post because anyone can take photos and misinterpret or alter them in a way that appears sexual. I try to limit my time on social media altogether. Anyone who experiences sextortion is a victim and never at fault. But practicing internet safety and always being mindful can help teens avoid these terrible situations.