Talking to strangers online helped me feel less lonely. But I was sliding toward disaster

the FAQ

I was lying on my bed with my laptop one evening when a new friend request popped up on Skype. I didn’t know who it was, but I accepted out of curiosity and a love of meeting new people.

Let’s call this stranger Mark. He immediately sent me a message and we started chatting about life.

Maybe this unsolicited friend request should have rung an alarm bell in my mind.

When I was a kid, my mom and dad had rules around chat rooms, warning me about the dangers of talking to strangers. I did listen for the first little while, but when I was 13, I started sending emails to musicians, their partners and their management. I loved it when they responded, particularly since it was a struggle to connect with my peers in the real world.

What you should know about me is that I was born with