Submission + - Adults MySpace Hoax Leads to 13-year-old's Suicide (freedomsforums.com)
mastershake_phd writes: ""Megan Meier thought she had made a new friend in cyberspace when a cute teenage boy named Josh contacted her on MySpace and began exchanging messages with her.
Megan, a 13-year-old who suffered from depression and attention deficit disorder, corresponded with Josh for more than a month before he abruptly ended their friendship, telling her he had heard she was cruel.
The next day Megan committed suicide. Her family learned later that Josh never actually existed; he was created by members of a neighborhood family that included a former friend of Megan's.
Now Megan's parents hope the people who made the fraudulent profile on the social networking Web site will be prosecuted, and they are seeking legal changes to safeguard children on the Internet."
Of course now it's time to pass some new laws so this never happens again:
"Aldermen in Dardenne Prairie, a community of about 7,000 residents about 35 miles from St. Louis, have proposed a new ordinance related to child endangerment and Internet harassment. It could come before city leaders on Wednesday.
``Is this enough?'' Mayor Pam Fogarty said Friday. ``No, not by any stretch of the imagination, but it's something, and you have to start somewhere.''"
http://pantagraph.com/articles/2007/11/18/news/doc473fc248dd00f015626501.txt"
Megan, a 13-year-old who suffered from depression and attention deficit disorder, corresponded with Josh for more than a month before he abruptly ended their friendship, telling her he had heard she was cruel.
The next day Megan committed suicide. Her family learned later that Josh never actually existed; he was created by members of a neighborhood family that included a former friend of Megan's.
Now Megan's parents hope the people who made the fraudulent profile on the social networking Web site will be prosecuted, and they are seeking legal changes to safeguard children on the Internet."
Of course now it's time to pass some new laws so this never happens again:
"Aldermen in Dardenne Prairie, a community of about 7,000 residents about 35 miles from St. Louis, have proposed a new ordinance related to child endangerment and Internet harassment. It could come before city leaders on Wednesday.
``Is this enough?'' Mayor Pam Fogarty said Friday. ``No, not by any stretch of the imagination, but it's something, and you have to start somewhere.''"
http://pantagraph.com/articles/2007/11/18/news/doc473fc248dd00f015626501.txt"
