The adult controls the camera, the narrative, and the decision to publish. The child often doesn’t know they’re being watched beyond the immediate room.
She watched herself, two years younger, sitting on a cold bench near the food court. She remembered the texture of the pretzel she’d been eating before the texts arrived. She remembered the way her phone had vibrated with a staccato rhythm that signaled the end of her world—a world where her boyfriend hadn't cheated, where her friends hadn't laughed, where her private shame hadn't been screenshot and shared in a group chat she wasn’t part of. The adult controls the camera, the narrative, and
of online shaming in more detail.