Myspace Suicide

My Space suicide and Cyber bullying

The MySpace Suicide: A Case Study in Over criminalization. By Andrew Grossman http://www.heritage.org/research/legalissues/lm32.cfm .

When the Bullies turned faceless. By Christopher Maag http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/fashion/16meangirls.html?_r=1&n=Top/Ref erence/Times%20Topics/People/M/Meier,%20Megan

Studies on cyber bullying are somewhat limited, since it is a fairly new field of study but, it is clear that it is an issue requiring attention, just like bullying in general does. I read these articles I posted here about the case of Megan Meier and how it caused people to take notice of the dangers of virtual communities for youth. Megan Meier’s suicide made headlines because she was the victim of a hoax. Lori Drew, a mother in the neighborhood, said in a police report that she had created a My Space profile of a boy, an invention named “Josh Evans,” and that she and her daughter had manipulated Megan into thinking that this fabricated person liked her. Then, after a few weeks, girls, posing as Josh, wrote My Space messages telling Megan that he hated her, ending with a final message suggesting the world would be better off without her. Within an hour of that message being received, Megan killed herself. Although we could guess that most mothers would not pull vicious pranks and few harassed adolescents become depressed and commit suicide as a result of on-line bullying, there definitely is cause for concern. “Unlike traditional bullying, which usually is an intimate, if highly unpleasant, experience; high-tech bullying can happen anywhere, anytime, among lots of different children who may never actually meet in person. It is inescapable and often anonymous, said sociologists and educators who have studied cyber bullying.” http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/16/fashion/16meangirls.html?_r=1&n=Top/Ref erence/Times%20Topics/People/M/Meier,%20Megan

I found this story so sad and scary at the same time because it seems almost impossible to control or stop.

The MySpace Suicide: A Case Study in Over criminalization. By Andrew Grossman http://www.heritage.org/research/legalissues/lm32.cfm .

I remember reading last year that this mother was found guilty; I found the following information in Andrew Grossman’s article: Lori Drew was indicted under a federal anti- computer hacking statute for impersonating a young man on My Space to gain the trust of Megan Meier, who killed herself after the cruel joke went out of control. On November 26, 2008 she was found guilty of three minor offences, not the felony charges, but the charges and subsequent verdict sent a message that this sort of action will not be tolerated. There was a lot of controversy about the charges and many legal minds, although they were disgusted by Lori Drew’s actions, did not see the charges as being appropriate. They were concerned about extremely broad liability that could make millions of honest citizen’s possible criminals. Although most legal people agree that Lori Drew's conduct was irresponsible, and disgusting, they also suggest it was not criminal. “It may deserve social sanction, already dispensed in great quantity, and perhaps civil liabil¬ity to Megan Meier's parents. But if Drew is con¬victed under criminal law, virtually every Internet user will face the consequences.” Andrew Grossman said. It does seem scary that cyber space is so new and that laws have not been clearly developed yet to deal with all that can happen on-line and in cyber communities. I believe there should be laws in place to protect children from this kind of abuse.