INTRODUCTION
When my daughter became a senior in high school, I knew it wouldn’t be long
before she left for college. I felt happy that she was about to start a new chapter
in her life and proud of her success in getting to this point. But I also felt sad.
Not only was I going to miss having my smart, funny, talkative, wildly creative
daughter living at home, but I was also going to miss her wonderful friends. I
wouldn’t hear what was going on in their day-to-day lives anymore, and I
wouldn’t be able to help them sort things out.
I began thinking about ways to continue helping teens after my daughter
and her friends moved on. One morning, I woke up with an idea and shared it
with my husband, who’s director of new content for Talk City, a large network
of online communities. I would create a special online teen “neighborhood”
where young people could make the world (and their corners of it) a safer,
saner, cleaner, more equitable place to live. Talk City’s The InSite launched in
June 1997, and The InSite now has its own home at http://www.TheInSite.org.
At The InSite, you can find everything from advice on relationships, to a
teen soap opera called The Story,to an online gallery for teen art and writing. At
the heart and soul of The InSite is “Terra,” a kind of cyberspace “Dear Abby”
who answers thousands of letters (from Hong Kong to Brazil) written by teens
just like you. Terra,the Latin word for Earth,is my online name.
About a dozen times a day, I receive email messages like this one:
Hey Terra,
My best friend has never had a girlfriend and I’ve had lots of them, but I’m always really nice
to him about it, never bragging or anything like that. Anyway, two weeks ago I told him about
this girl I REALLY like a lot and asked him what he thought of her. All he said was, “She’s
okay.” But last weekend, we were all at this party and he was totally flirting with the girl I like!
I got really mad and called him a backstabber and a couple of other names. He didn’t talk to
me for the rest of the party and ended up getting a ride home with someone else. When I
called him the next day, he hung up on me. Now I hear he’s going out with that girl! It looks
like I lost the girl and my best friend. Help! What should I do?
Alone and Sad
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