Howdy, Stranger!
It looks like you're new here. If you want to get involved, click one of these buttons!
Quick Links
Another reason to keep kids away from MySpace
Motorhead
Member UncommonPosts: 1,193
'My Space' hoax ends with suicide of Dardenne Prairie teen
By Steve Pokin
Tuesday, November 13, 2007 9:08 AM CST
 |
| Roy Sykes photos Tina and Ron Meier look up at the mausoleum gravesite of their daughter Megan, who would have been 15 on Nov. 6. |
 |
"Mom! Mom! Mom! Look at him!" Tina Meier recalls her daughter saying.
Josh had contacted Megan Meier through her MySpace page and wanted to be added as a friend.Yes, he's cute, Tina Meier told her daughter. "Do you know who he is?"
"No, but look at him! He's hot! Please, please, can I add him?"
Mom said yes. And for six weeks Megan and Josh - under Tina's watchful eye - became acquainted in the virtual world of MySpace.
Josh said he was born in Florida and recently had moved to O'Fallon. He was homeschooled. He played the guitar and drums.
He was from a broken home: "when i was 7 my dad left me and my mom and my older brother and my newborn brother 3 boys god i know poor mom yeah she had such a hard time when we were younger finding work to pay for us after he loeft."
As for 13-year-old Megan, of Dardenne Prairie, this is how she expressed who she was:
M is for Modern
E is for Enthusiastic
G is for Goofy
A is for Alluring
N is for Neglected.
She loved swimming, boating, fishing, dogs, rap music and boys. But her life had not always been easy, her mother says.
She was heavy and for years had tried to lose weight. She had attention deficit disorder and battled depression. Back in third grade she had talked about suicide, Tina says, and ever since had seen a therapist.
But things were going exceptionally well. She had shed 20 pounds, getting down to 175. She was 5 foot 5½ inches tall.
She had just started eighth grade at a new school, Immaculate Conception, in Dardenne Prairie, where she was on the volleyball team. She had attended Fort Zumwalt public schools before that.
Amid all these positives, Tina says, her daughter decided to end a friendship with a girlfriend who lived down the street from them. The girls had spent much of seventh grade alternating between being friends and, the next day, not being friends, Tina says.
Part of the reason for Megan's rosy outlook was Josh, Tina says. After school, Megan would rush to the computer.
"Megan had a lifelong struggle with weight and self-esteem," Tina says. "And now she finally had a boy who she thought really thought she was pretty."
It did seem odd, Tina says, that Josh never asked for Megan's phone number. And when Megan asked for his, she says, Josh said he didn't have a cell and his mother did not yet have a landline.
And then on Sunday, Oct. 15, 2006, Megan received a puzzling and disturbing message from Josh. Tina recalls that it said: "I don't know if I want to be friends with you anymore because I've heard that you are not very nice to your friends."
Frantic, Megan shot back: "What are you talking about?"
SHADOWY CYBERSPACE
Tina Meier was wary of the cyber-world of MySpace and its 70 million users. People are not always who they say they are.
Tina knew firsthand. Megan and the girl down the block, the former friend, once had created a fake MySpace account, using the photo of a good-looking girl as a way to talk to boys online, Tina says. When Tina found out, she ended Megan's access.
MySpace has rules. A lot of them. There are nine pages of terms and conditions. The long list of prohibited content includes sexual material. And users must be at least 14.
"Are you joking?" Tina asks. "There are fifth-grade girls who have MySpace accounts."
As for sexual content, Tina says, most parents have no clue how much there is. And Megan wasn't 14 when she opened her account. To join, you are asked your age but there is no check. The accounts are free.
As Megan's 14th birthday approached, she pleaded for her mom to give her another chance on MySpace, and Tina relented.
She told Megan she would be all over this account, monitoring it. Megan didn't always make good choices because of her ADD, Tina says. And this time, Megan's page would be set to private and only Mom and Dad would have the password.
'GOD-AWFUL FEELING'
Monday, Oct. 16, 2006, was a rainy, bleak day. At school, Megan had handed out invitations to her upcoming birthday party and when she got home she asked her mother to log on to MySpace to see if Josh had responded.
Why did he suddenly think she was mean? Who had he been talking to?
Tina signed on. But she was in a hurry. She had to take her younger daughter, Allison, to the orthodontist.
Before Tina could get out the door it was clear Megan was upset. Josh still was sending troubling messages. And he apparently had shared some of Megan's messages with others.
Tina recalled telling Megan to sign off.
"I will Mom," Megan said. "Let me finish up."
Tina was pressed for time. She had to go. But once at the orthodontist's office she called Megan: Did you sign off?
"No, Mom. They are all being so mean to me."
"You are not listening to me, Megan! Sign off, now!"
Fifteen minutes later, Megan called her mother. By now Megan was in tears.
"They are posting bulletins about me." A bulletin is like a survey. "Megan Meier is a slut. Megan Meier is fat."
Megan was sobbing hysterically. Tina was furious that she had not signed off.
Once Tina returned home she rushed into the basement where the computer was. Tina was shocked at the vulgar language her daughter was firing back at people.
"I am so aggravated at you for doing this!" she told Megan.
Megan ran from the computer and left, but not without first telling Tina, "You're supposed to be my mom! You're supposed to be on my side!"
On the stairway leading to her second-story bedroom, Megan ran into her father, Ron.
"I grabbed her as she tried to go by," Ron says. "She told me that some kids were saying horrible stuff about her and she didn't understand why. I told her it's OK. I told her that they obviously don't know her. And that it would be fine."
Megan went to her room and Ron went downstairs to the kitchen, where he and Tina talked about what had happened, the MySpace account, and made dinner.
Twenty minutes later, Tina suddenly froze in mid-sentence.
"I had this God-awful feeling and I ran up into her room and she had hung herself in the closet."
Megan Taylor Meier died the next day, three weeks before her 14th birthday.
Later that day, Ron opened his daughter's MySpace account and viewed what he believes to be the final message Megan saw - one the FBI would be unable to retrieve from the hard drive.
It was from Josh and, according to Ron's best recollection, it said, "Everybody in O'Fallon knows how you are. You are a bad person and everybody hates you. Have a shitty rest of your life. The world would be a better place without you."
BEYOND GRIEF INTO FURY
Tina and Ron saw a grief counselor. Tina went to a couple of Parents After Loss of Suicide meetings, as well.
They tried to message Josh Evans, to let him know the deadly power of mean words. But his MySpace account had been deleted.
The day after Megan's death, they went down the street to comfort the family of the girl who had once been Megan's friend. They let the girl and her family know that although she and Megan had their ups and down, Megan valued her friendship.
They also attended the girl's birthday party, although Ron had to leave when it came time to sing "Happy Birthday." The Meiers went to the father's 50th birthday celebration. In addition, the Meiers stored a foosball table, a Christmas gift, for that family.
Six weeks after Megan died, on a Saturday morning, a neighbor down the street, a different neighbor, one they didn't know well, called and insisted that they meet that morning at a counselor's office in northern O'Fallon.
The woman would not provide details. Ron and Tina went. Their grief counselor was there. As well as a counselor from Fort Zumwalt West Middle School.
The neighbor from down the street, a single mom with a daughter the same age as Megan, informed the Meiers that Josh Evans never existed.
She told the Meiers that Josh Evans was created by adults, a family on their block. These adults, she told the Meiers, were the parents of Megan's former girlfriend, the one with whom she had a falling out. These were the people who'd asked the Meiers to store their foosball table.
The single mother, for this story, requested that her name not be used. She said her daughter, who had carpooled with the family that was involved in creating the phony MySpace account, had the password to the Josh Evans account and had sent one message - the one Megan received (and later retrieved off the hard drive) the night before she took her life.
"She had been encouraged to join in the joke," the single mother said.
The single mother said her daughter feels the guilt of not saying something sooner and for writing that message. Her daughter didn't speak out sooner because she'd known the other family for years and thought that what they were doing must be OK because, after all, they were trusted adults.
On the night the ambulance came for Megan, the single mother said, before it left the Meiers' house her daughter received a call. It was the woman behind the creation of the Josh Evans account. She had called to tell the girl that something had happened to Megan and advised the girl not to mention the MySpace account.
AX AND SLEDGEHAMMER
The Meiers went home and tore into the foosball table.
Tina used an ax and Ron a sledgehammer. They put the pieces in Ron's pickup and dumped them in their neighbor's driveway. Tina spray painted "Merry Christmas" on the box.
According to Tina, Megan had gone on vacations with this family. They knew how she struggled with depression, that she took medication.
"I know that they did not physically come up to our house and tie a belt around her neck," Tina says. "But when adults are involved and continue to screw with a 13-year-old - with or without mental problems - it is absolutely vile.
"She wanted to get Megan to feel like she was liked by a boy and let everyone know this was a false MySpace and have everyone laugh at her.
"I don't feel their intentions were for her to kill herself. But that's how it ended."
'GAINING MEGAN'S CONFIDENCE'
That same day, the family down the street tried to talk to the Meiers. Ron asked friends to convince them to leave before he physically harmed them.
In a letter dated Nov. 30, 2006, the family tells Ron and Tina, "We are sorry for the extreme pain you are going through and can only imagine how difficult it must be. We have every compassion for you and your family."
The Suburban Journals have decided not to name the family out of consideration for their teenage daughter.
The mother declined comment.
"I have been advised not to give out any information and I apologize for that," she says. "I would love to sit here and talk to you about it but I can't."
She was informed that without her direct comment the newspaper would rely heavily on the police report she filed with the St. Charles County Sheriff's Department regarding the destroyed foosball table.
"I will tell you that the police report is totally wrong," the mother said. "We have worked on getting that changed. I would just be very careful about what you write."
Lt. Craig McGuire, spokesman for the sheriff's department, said he is unaware of anyone contacting the department to alter the report.
"We stand behind the report as written," McGuire says. "There was no supplement to it. What is in the report is what we believe she told us."
The police report - without using the mother's name - states:
"(She) stated in the months leading up Meier's daughter's suicide, she instigated and monitored a 'my space' account which was created for the sole purpose of communicating with Meier's daughter.
"(She) said she, with the help of temporary employee named ------ constructed a profile of 'good looking' male on 'my space' in order to 'find out what Megan (Meier's daughter) was saying on-line' about her daughter. (She) explained the communication between the fake male profile and Megan was aimed at gaining Megan's confidence and finding out what Megan felt about her daughter and other people.
"(She) stated she, her daughter and (the temporary employee) all typed, read and monitored the communication between the fake male profile and Megan ?..
"According to (her) 'somehow' other 'my space' users were able to access the fake male profile and Megan found out she had been duped. (She) stated she knew 'arguments' had broken out between Megan and others on 'my space.' (She) felt this incident contributed to Megan's suicide, but she did not feel 'as guilty' because at the funeral she found out 'Megan had tried to commit suicide before.'"
Tina says her daughter died thinking Josh was real and that she never before attempted suicide.
"She was the happiest she had ever been in her life," Ron says.
After years of wearing braces, Megan was scheduled to have them removed the day she died. And she was looking forward to her birthday party.
"She and her mom went shopping and bought a new dress," Ron says. "She wanted to make this grand entrance with me carrying her down the stairs. I never got to see her in that dress until the funeral."
NO CRIMINAL CHARGES
It does not appear that there will be criminal charges filed in connection with Megan's death.
"We did not have a charge to fit it," McGuire says. "I don't know that anybody can sit down and say, 'This is why this young girl took her life.'"
The Meiers say the matter also was investigated by the FBI, which analyzed the family computer and conducted interviews. Ron said a stumbling block is that the FBI was unable to retrieve the electronic messages from Megan's final day, including that final message that only Ron saw.
The Meiers do not plan to file a civil lawsuit. Here's what they want: They want the law changed, state or federal, so that what happened to Megan - at the hands of an adult - is a crime.
THE AFTERMATH IS PAIN
The Meiers are divorcing. Ron says Tina was as vigilant as a parent could be in monitoring Megan on MySpace. Yet she blames herself.
"I have this awful, horrible guilt and this I can never change," she said. "Ever."
Ron struggles daily with the loss of a daughter who, no matter how low she felt, tried to make others laugh and feel a little bit better.
He has difficulty maintaining focus and has kept his job as a tool and die maker through the grace and understanding of his employer, he says. His emotions remain jagged, on edge.
Christine Buckles lives in the same Waterford Crossing subdivision. In her view, everyone in the subdivision knows of Megan's death, but few know of the other family's involvement.
Tina says she and Ron have dissuaded angry friends and family members from vandalizing the other home for one, and only one, reason.
"The police will think we did it," Tina says.
Ron faces a misdemeanor charge of property damage. He is accused of driving his truck across the lawn of the family down the street, doing $1,000 in damage, in March. A security camera the neighbors installed on their home allegedly caught him.
It was Tina, a real estate agent, who helped the other family purchase their home on the same block 2½ years ago.
"I just wish they would go away, move," Ron says.
Vicki Dunn, Tina's aunt, last month placed signs in and near the neighborhood on the anniversary of Megan's death.
They read: "Justice for Megan Meier," "Call the St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney," and "MySpace Impersonator in Your Neighborhood."
On the window outside Megan's room is an ornamental angel that Ron turns on almost every night. Inside are pictures of boys, posters of Usher, Beyonce and on the dresser a tube of instant bronzer.
"She was all about getting a tan," Ron says.
He has placed the doors back on the closet. Megan had them off.
If only she had waited, talked to someone, or just made it to dinner, then through the evening, and then on to the beginning of a new day in what could have been a remarkable life.
If she had, he says, there is no doubt she would have chosen to live. Instead, there is so much pain.
"She never would have wanted to see her parents divorce," Ron says.
Ultimately, it was Megan's choice to do what she did, he says. "But it was like someone handed her a loaded gun."
----------------------------------------------
"Some days you just can't get rid of a bomb." -- Batman
Comments
can u summarize it for me?
-In memory of Laura "Taera" Genender. Passed away on Aug/13/08-
|
RISING DRAGOON ~AION US ONLINE LEGION for Elyos
Some 13 year old fat girl met a "hot guy" who ended up becoming "friends" with her. Then the guy started saying "mean things" about her so she hung herself with a belt in her closet. The twist is the "hot guy" was created by some adults in the neighborhood who knew the girl and knew she had depression issues.
Not a big story. Just another "blame MySpace for poor parenting" story.
Not a big story. Just another "blame MySpace for poor parenting" story.
Not a big story? The parents of another girl pretended to be that "hot guy" and commited fraud knowing full well what their deception could cause.
They should be charged with some type of crime and Myspace should be held responsible to better check who each account actually is. Maybe using some type of photo ID to confirm the account.
War Beta Tester
If you read the comments on the original story, someone posts the website to the county property database and with a little bit of searching you can find out the names of the family that made the fake Myspace account.
War Beta Tester
Not a big story. Just another "blame MySpace for poor parenting" story.
More like 13 year old girl on Anti-depresents broke up with girlfriend. So girlfriends parents made fake Myspace account to find out what 13 year old girl was saying about there daughter [nothing as it turned out]. 13 year old thought she was talking to a real boyfriend then it is 'claimed' by the parents of the neighbours daughter that hackers got controll of that account and revieled the truth. Arguments ensued between 13 year old and other userswith the Boyfriend account taunting her, ending with a the "world will be a better place without a slut like you" message.Then she hangs herself [as a side note her neighbours and there daughter knew that she tried to kill herself before.
Soon after wards the neighbours owned up to it being them who created and owned the fake accouunt so the father of the dead girl got a sledge hammer and smashed a table the neighbors ahd stored over at the fathers garage. Which was dumped on the neighbours lawn with Merry Christmas spraypainted on its box.
From reading the story i get the impression that it was really the victims Ex girlfriend who was responsable and the ahcker story was made up as there is no proof beyong the neighbours daughters parrents word.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Retired from: Neocron, Everquest, Everquest 2, Guild Wars, RF Online and Final Fantasy VII
Currently Playing : EvE Online.
I don't see how this is myspaces fault? I mean, how about we just remove any form of communication because it might be used wrongly?
Maybe they should do a much better job of making sure people aren't using fake idenities. Or that underage children aren't getting onto the site?
They are irresponsible in their controlling the use of their medium.
War Beta Tester
Agreed. But you need to understand, these are the kind of parents who need someone to blame for their own failings.
Agreed. But you need to understand, these are the kind of parents who need someone to blame for their own failings.
What Failings? Did you not read the story? They did everything within their power to monitor what their daughter was doing on MySpace. No matter what they did it would never be enough. They did not have the power to stop Adults from manipulating the system. That was a deliberate act by adults to attack a child.
It is a sick and depraved act of abuse and the parents who made the account should be held accountable.
I hope that the parents of the deceased girl change their mind and bring a civil suit against that other family and against myspace.
It's just plain ridiculous that MySpace can list off 9 pages of requirements and then blindly use them as their shield to protect themselves when they aren't doing everything they can in order to confirm the identity of the people on the site.
War Beta Tester
Agreed. But you need to understand, these are the kind of parents who need someone to blame for their own failings.
What Failings? Did you not read the story? They did everything within their power to monitor what their daughter was doing on MySpace. No matter what they did it would never be enough. They did not have the power to stop Adults from manipulating the system. That was a deliberate act by adults to attack a child.
It is a sick and depraved act of abuse and the parents who made the account should be held accountable.
I hope that the parents of the deceased girl change their mind and bring a civil suit against that other family and against myspace.
It's just plain ridiculous that MySpace can list off 9 pages of requirements and then blindly use them as their shield to protect themselves when they aren't doing everything they can in order to confirm the identity of the people on the site.
Look at the girl's history, look at her mind-set, look at her low self esteem issues. Now tell me that's a result of good parenting.
And of course, typically, Myspace gets the blame for being the place where the communication took place.
If something I type here upsets you, and you go hang yourself, is that MMORPG.com's fault?
How is this Myspace fault? I blame the parents. If they knew the kid had depression issues I don't think they would even approve of her being on myspace, because they would know that it would hurt her. All those beautiful and sexy people and ignorance, etc. I think that she should have tried something like a MMORPG or Second Life or something. There is a lot of false people on Myspace.I'm also kinda wondering how the hell you hang yourself with a belt in your closet?
-In memory of Laura "Taera" Genender. Passed away on Aug/13/08-
|
RISING DRAGOON ~AION US ONLINE LEGION for Elyos
Hanging with a belt is rather easy. You simply secure the belt into a loop like you were putting it around your waist, except around your neck. Then secure the long end on a hook or knot it around a pole, then jump.
Personally I think everyone shares in the blame in this case. Megan made the choice to die. So she carries that responsibility. The neighbors made it worse through there bad choices. The parents for there bad choices. One things for sure though, the parents cared. They did make efforts to help the child. She had a therapist. She was making progress with her self esteem. So in the end perhaps they simply HOPED she was well enough to handle a situation that a normal person could. Hope is a dangerous state. It inspires people to take risks. Some pay off and some dont. Unfortunately it cost Megan her life.
Criminal charges should definitely be filed against the other parents, harassment, slander, libel, possibly manslaughter. I have no doubt that a court would convict them of at least one of the above. This is no way MySpace's fault though. People need to quit looking for some corporate entity to blame for everything and point the finger where it belongs, at the individuals responsible for this bullshit.
My blog:
http://www.mmorpg.com/blogs/Strayfe/
People misunderstand what I mean. I don't think MySpace is responsible in anyway for Megan's death. I think they do have a responsibility to better screen the people using their service. Megan wasn't old enough to have a Myspace account first of all even though at the age of 12 she had made one before her parents found out. Secondly the other parents should of never been able to make up an account.
This would very easily be solved by linking the accounts with some type of parental consent and credit card (not to charge but to verify identity). But I think MySpace cares more about their advertising revenue and less about how their product is being used illegally.
War Beta Tester
By precedent, it is not. I will pull the court case for your reading enjoyment when I have time.
Agreed. But you need to understand, these are the kind of parents who need someone to blame for their own failings.
What Failings? Did you not read the story? They did everything within their power to monitor what their daughter was doing on MySpace.
Except not let their 13 yo daughter have an account which requires you to be at least 14. Teach them to break the rules in the littlest ways....
Agreed. But you need to understand, these are the kind of parents who need someone to blame for their own failings.
What Failings? Did you not read the story? They did everything within their power to monitor what their daughter was doing on MySpace.
Except not let their 13 yo daughter have an account which requires you to be at least 14. Teach them to break the rules in the littlest ways....
What about the other parents impersonating a 16 year old boy? Or MySpace doing nothing to actually enforce their rules.It is a cop out to try and deflect any responsibility because they do not want to hurt their advertising revenue.
War Beta Tester
Harassment - possibly
slander - no (slander is only spoken words)
libel - possibly
manslaughter - definitely not.
There are several torts they could be liable under. They may be charged with criminal negligence or even lewd conduct towards a child as criminal charges.
The parents of Megan will, if they pursue, become quite rich from this. Punitive damages are possible in a case such as this because they were purposefully negligent.
Agreed. But you need to understand, these are the kind of parents who need someone to blame for their own failings.
What Failings? Did you not read the story? They did everything within their power to monitor what their daughter was doing on MySpace.
Except not let their 13 yo daughter have an account which requires you to be at least 14. Teach them to break the rules in the littlest ways....
What about the other parents impersonating a 16 year old boy? Or MySpace doing nothing to actually enforce their rules.It is a cop out to try and deflect any responsibility because they do not want to hurt their advertising revenue.
MySpace does enforce their rules. However, it is not their responsibility to verify age unless they state it in their rules. They have closed thousands of accounts for going against their rules and terms of service. So, their duty has been performed. And, what about the other parents impersonating the boy? Is it the daughters job to figure that out? Is it MySpace's job?It's sad to say and I will admit a bit assholish, but this is yet another lesson learned to get a real life and quit depending on the wonderful "friendships" of social sites such as MySpace.
Agreed. But you need to understand, these are the kind of parents who need someone to blame for their own failings.
What Failings? Did you not read the story? They did everything within their power to monitor what their daughter was doing on MySpace.
Except not let their 13 yo daughter have an account which requires you to be at least 14. Teach them to break the rules in the littlest ways....
What about the other parents impersonating a 16 year old boy? Or MySpace doing nothing to actually enforce their rules.It is a cop out to try and deflect any responsibility because they do not want to hurt their advertising revenue.
Eh, Myspace is amoral, I mean Myspace did nothing.
Its the people that use myspace that the problem lies in.
A tax return is amoral too, you can file it right or you can lie and file it wrongly. Myspace takes on the characteristics of whoever logs into it. You make Myspace what it is.
These people lied, they should be held accountable for their actions, the parents of Megan should have paid closer attention to their daughters feelings towards this "boy." They can't look back and say "I knew something was wrong when.." but then dismiss it at the time because they're looking back and not paying attention to the "now". But moreso justice would dictate that the other family that knowingly cause mental stress to someone for their own personal gain/pleasure, is absolutely ridiculous.
If that were my kid, I'm not sure if anything could stop be from beating to death the other parents. I'm glad they stood up for themselves by destroying the table.
The only thing the parents of Megan did wrong was letting their daughter on myspace at 13 years old. They did a great job of monitoring their daughter, but they didn't catch the really bad stuff because it was posted the day she killed herself and after she ran upstairs.
The other parents should feel horrible and guilty, they deserve it. And they should feel even worse for accusing other people of hacking the account, which is obviously a load of bullshit.
I'm saddened by this story, but this is under no means Myspace's fault, although they did have the power to stop it. But they're not able to check every single person. I'm just going to continue to think myspace is a site for teenage girls to show off. Megan should have done something other then go on Myspace though.
In summary, Megan should have gone out more, her parents should have read the rules, and the other family should go move away and rot.
I'm disgusted by those of you who blame the parents of the girl who died. They were monitoring what was being discussed, they just happened to be duped into thinking the other party was boy, like Megan did. You teenagers out there know what it's like to whine, beg, argue and complain until you get your way with Mom & Dad. If YOUR parents decided they felt myspace was unsafe for YOU and banned YOU from it, how would YOU react?
The "adults" that pretended to be a teenage boy just to bait this poor girl are sick, immature a$$holes! Megan only stopped being friends with the girl because the girls' parents set her up. Guys, that's even worse than your girlfriend having her hot friend hit on you just to "prove your love".
The people responsible were the ones falsifying their identities with the intention of hurting another human being....a MINOR human being. Also, no mention was made if the conversations between Megan and "Josh" were romantic in nature....if so, that cold be construed as lewd behavior towards a minor.
The destruction of the table could also be considered temporary insanity, since the father was overwhelmed with grief after hearing that his daughter was provoked into committing suicide by the adults down the street.
If I was Megan's parent, I would definitely seek legal counsel regarding the local child endangerment laws and I'd begin a civil action against the offenders. Even if they don't want to profit from their daughter's death, the parents can still "have justice" and simply donate the awards to a charity.
................................
My current Guild Wars character:
Dauthix The Avenger (Paragon/Ranger)
We know that, but if the parents knew that the girl had depression issues, wouldn't you would think that they might have thought of maybe something else other than a profiling site for her to enjoy herself? Monitoring was ok and everything, but if I knew my child had depression issues I wouldn't let them on such a site, but as you said, I bet this girl whined, beged, argued, and complained till she got her way and she did, but was fully monitored. Humm. I'd still have to say parents would be at some type of fault. The media don't tell everything you know. I'm not saying they are to blame for the death, it's more like why would you let your depressed child on THAT site?
-In memory of Laura "Taera" Genender. Passed away on Aug/13/08-
|
RISING DRAGOON ~AION US ONLINE LEGION for Elyos
As I said before parents look at it in hindsight and say "I knew things were wrong when..." but didn't do anything about it.
For instance...
"Tina Meier was wary of the cyber-world of MySpace and its 70 million users. People are not always who they say they are.
Tina knew firsthand. Megan and the girl down the block, the former friend, once had created a fake MySpace account, using the photo of a good-looking girl as a way to talk to boys online, Tina says. When Tina found out, she ended Megan's access."
She knew these things happened, so she restricted her account.
"She told Megan she would be all over this account, monitoring it. Megan didn't always make good choices because of her ADD, Tina says. And this time, Megan's page would be set to private and only Mom and Dad would have the password."
She knew she didn't make "good choices" but she thought she could make all her daughters choices for her through monitoring and them having the password.
"Before Tina could get out the door it was clear Megan was upset. Josh still was sending troubling messages. And he apparently had shared some of Megan's messages with others.
Tina recalled telling Megan to sign off.
"I will Mom," Megan said. "Let me finish up."
Tina was pressed for time. She had to go. But once at the orthodontist's office she called Megan: Did you sign off?
"No, Mom. They are all being so mean to me."
"You are not listening to me, Megan! Sign off, now!"
Fifteen minutes later, Megan called her mother. By now Megan was in tears.
"They are posting bulletins about me." A bulletin is like a survey. "Megan Meier is a slut. Megan Meier is fat."
Megan was sobbing hysterically. Tina was furious that she had not signed off.
Once Tina returned home she rushed into the basement where the computer was. Tina was shocked at the vulgar language her daughter was firing back at people.
"I am so aggravated at you for doing this!" she told Megan."
She knew that her daughter was upset and obsessed with this issue, but never opted to allow her to "take a break" from this problem.
Now I'm not saying that they are at fault per se, and hindsight is always 20/20, the fault lies soleley on the people who masked themselves as someone else for their own personal entertainment. I'm just saying, if their parents felt this way about their daughter then they should have been more careful.