With the permission of her parents, 13-year-old Kirsten "KiKi" Ostrenga turned to the internet as a social outlet when her parents pulled her out of school due to constant bullying- a decision that would change their lives forever.
- Kirsten "KiKi Kannibal" Ostrenga
Online, you can be anyone. If you're bullied because people think you're ugly with a few clicks and some Photoshop... you're a sex goddess. If you're shy, the social walls that echo your squeaky, mouse-like voice all fall down when you post your first entry. If you're hated and have no friends, suddenly you can have 5,000.
The internet isn't just a place to share, it's a place to be shared, and be loved or hated.
Three months after KiKi Kannibal made her first appearance on the web, with her MySpace account that presented her as a teenage punk rock princess inscantily clad outfits, she found herself with 25,000 friends. She was overwhelmed with the excitement of finally having friends- but her feelings of excitement were short-lived. Soon, KiKi became the center for a whirlwind of hate.
Within a year, KiKi became increasingly more popular online and began dating an 18-year-old who she met on Myspace named Danny "Mr. Myspace" Cespedes. The pedaphile, who we later find out has raped over 17 girls under 14, eventually raped KiKi and tragically fell to a coma while resisting arrest at Aventura Mall in Orlando months later.
During this time, KiKi once again enters the online public eye to show people who she really is (in hopes to put an end to all of the hate mail) by joining Stickam, a web chat site where teens can stream live webcam footage and chat with visitors. Still young and naive, the 14-year-old finds that dancing around in almost nothing attracts a lot of people- so they must like her.
At the peak of her popularity on Stickam, her ex-boyfriend died and his death swirls up even more negative publicity online for KiKi- sending her entire family into hiding. To add to KiKi's problems, Christopher Stone (the owner of Stickam) had made KiKi the center of his newest project: stickydrama.com, a site dedicated to making fun of Stickam users.
To make matters worse, Stone's attacks become more and more personal- at one point. One of Stone's posts included a Photoshopped picture involving the 14-year old with bestiality...that was all 4 years ago.
Today, 18-year-old Kirsten still relies on the internet for most of her social connections. She takes classes at the local community college and maintains anonline punk rock fashion business, and still remains distantly disconnected from the real world. Some where during the show of Kirsten Ostrenga becoming her online identity of KiKi Kannibal, KiKi Kannibal forgot who Kirsten Ostrenga was. "I feel like a butterfly in a jar," KiKi says in a recent Rolling Stones expose. "They'll watch me. And they'll take from me. But no one ever connects."
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