Connected

Chapter 1

October 2018

Agata registered on the app she had just downloaded with a nickname inspired by Montale, her favorite poet: Xenia. She was asked to upload a photo, but she didn't trust showing her face on a platform she didn't know. So, she chose a photo she had taken a few days earlier, focusing on a long braid of brown hair resting on her protruding collarbone. The profile was ready.

Agata learned fastly how that app worked: users could view other people's profiles, but if they decided to contact someone, the message would be sent anonymously. She quickly discovered the tendency for banality and superficiality that characterized the platform's members. She received numerous unwanted explicit images and obscene propositions, which significantly lowered her expectations regarding the people she would meet. Only a few individuals approached her kindly with a simple "hey, how are you?" message, but Agata wasn't interested in making new acquaintances. So even when she decided to respond, she would let the conversation die off. After all, the only reason she installed the app was to understand what the link Laura had shared was all about.

It was incredible how many messages she received. She couldn't even put her phone aside for a few minutes without finding at least ten new chats opened by strangers who had contacted her. But finally, amidst the wave of pointless messages, one caught her attention: "Is your username inspired by Montale by any chance?". Agata's heart filled with joy realizing that someone had truly understood the reference to her favorite poet, and she chose to continue the chat.

After spending the entire evening discussing literature, they moved on to introductions. Agata discovered that the guy she had spent all that time talking to was named Luka. He was twenty years old, studying computer engineering, born and raised in Milan in a Serbian family, and he genuinely seemed like a good-looking guy in the two visible photos he had on his profile. But when Luka asked for her name, Agata hesitated for a moment. Despite the brilliant conversation they had just had, she didn't know whether to trust him or not. On one hand, she felt that the guy had potential, but on the other hand, she wanted to preserve her true identity. So she decided to make herself as untraceable as possible to protect herself in case this guy turned out to be a stalker. Thus, on that platform Agata, an eighteen-year-old from Udine, became Aurora, an eighteen-year-old from Trieste. She also mentioned that she wasn't comfortable showing her face in that moment but would do so when they had built more trust. Luka was understanding and assured her that she had nothing to worry about. Agata bid him goodnight and went to sleep, hoping to wake up to a message from him.

***

The next morning, the alarm rang three times before Agata managed to get up. She was exhausted; it wasn't like her to go to bed so late. She hastily got dressed, grabbed a slice of cake on the go, and set off for school, barely arriving on time. It was only during the break that she remembered to check Connected to see if Luka had written, but unfortunately, there was nothing. She was so unsure of herself that she had already resigned herself to the fact that she wouldn't hear from him again. Maybe she came across as unlikeable or uninteresting, perhaps he had a too busy life to keep up with messages. During the last two lessons, instead of paying attention to the explanations, she reflected on whether to keep the application or not, and in the end, she concluded that she should uninstall it.

She didn't think about it for the rest of the day. She did her homework, studied, completed her routine tasks, and evening came. She suddenly remembered that she had to follow through with what she had decided in the morning, so she opened the app to deactivate her profile. But before doing so, out of caution, she checked if Luka had written back. To her great surprise, she found a message from 5:12 PM that said, "Hey :)". Reading that message brought her great pleasure, but by now, the decision was made, and she didn't intend to continue such an interesting conversation on that useless app full of people she was better off not having anything to do with. In the meantime, she regretted not telling him her real name, so she came to the conclusion that it was worth taking a chance. When she informed him of her intention to delete her profile, she asked if he was willing to continue the conversation on Instagram. The reply came immediately, "No, sorry, I only follow people I know on Instagram because my girlfriend is jealous and always checks the new people I start following. If she asked who you are, I wouldn't know what to tell her. If you delete your profile, goodbye, know that it was a pleasure talking to you."

Agata was a bit taken aback. Could it be possible that a guy in a relationship was signed up on that platform? And moreover, could it be possible that an intelligent guy like him allowed himself to be controlled by a jealous girlfriend? Something in that message didn't completely convince Agata; she was overwhelmed by too many questions. Nonetheless, she merely bid Luka farewell and uninstalled Connected, unaware that it wouldn't be the last time.