14-year-old girl commits suicide over Myspace drama

[Kat]

There are way too many posts to quote them all but let me just say some things that came to mind while reading this.

Dodge when you said how can a child so young have depression...there is nothing that says you have to reach a certain age before you can be depressed. And as much as its just internet taunting or whatever...it is still hurtful to some people. Words can do more damage than fists sometimes.

And no matter what anyones take on suicide sometimes people just reach the point where they cant take anymore..for whatever reason.

So many people could have been blamed for this...the parents who started the account for being immature and vicious. Her parents for not realizing what was going on. Her for not being stronger...but you can never get inside the families head or her head to find out what exactly happened to make it end how it did.

This story broke my heart to read.

And no matter what anyone says Emo or any other label has nothing to do with this...anyone any age can be affected by depression...if you have things told to you so many times...it digs in deep...trust me i know from experience. I am still dealing with things from when i was young even now its hard to get over. Dont be so quick to judge.

i may come back and add more when i have time ...also rep to ria i agree with everything you said in your last post...very well spoken

 

[COOL_BREEZE2]

Totally agree with your comment Kat. With special regard to:

"....there is nothing that says you have to reach a certain age before you can be depressed"

"Words can do more damage than fists sometimes."

People need to realize the potency of the written word. It sinks in, is there to be re-read over and over again and remains far longer than the spoken word is done said.

I've heard it said so many times "it's just the internet"...."words on a forum"...."not serious" et all, and take a cavalier attitude to hurling insults and abuse at one another, trolling behind a supposedly "safe" place. That's irresponsible thinking IMO because the words do not get typed by some magical keyboard. Behind the keyboard there are humans with feelings on both the sending and receiving end.

 

[TheOriginalJames]

Nobody at that age is really depressed... I hate to say it like that, but... I mean I understand having stress and stuff like that, because yeah, its hard to be 13, but depression? No.

Depression isn't "oh I'm sad because something happened" depression can be caused by a lack of a balance of chemicals. It's not the persons concious fault he/she's stuck by depression, so no, it's not entirely out of the question for someone so young to deal with it.

 

[groundpounder]

But in this case, her parents didn't monitor the rules of the website(Yes, I keep bringing this up, because this is the major factor in this thread), and it resulted in their daughter's death.

So the self proclaimed root cause of your righteous indignation is the fact that she joined MySpace too early. You've state that over and over, so it's relatively clear.

And so if she would have joined ON or AFTER her 14th birthday, however many months later, the rose colored glasses that you're looking at this through would somehow be different. That's the conclusion we can draw from your numerous statements of her causing her OWN death by joining too early - if she had followed the rules, then the death wouldn't have been her fault.

It then would have been the fault of the immature adult who created a false online persona (violating the rules, BTW) so that her "Josh" could slyly obtain gossip about her kid from the kid that she thought was spreading it, then allowed that false account to be used for the most insidious of intentions which resulted in another person's death.

Correct?

 

[Ria]

Along with my post on the previous page, I also agree with kat, CB and GP - which is along the same as what I have also said and others'.

I hope you have read these posts on this page and my post too - you really seriously need to.

 

[COOL_BREEZE2]

Well he did say in his opening post, and I quote:

"I know I'm going to catch some major flak for my opinion on this matter, but I don't really care."

 

[Ria]

Well he did say in his opening post, and I quote:

"I know I'm going to catch some major flak for my opinion on this matter, but I don't really care."

Precisely CB!

We are old enough to know and understand more on this kind of situation, than someone with that kind of attitude.

 

[COOL_BREEZE2]

Just finished reading the story and Dodge's editorial and I must say to you Dodge that you have a lot of gall to say some of the things you said there.

Have you really read and understood the story?

Is is indeed logical to conclude that the death of this 13-14 year old girl falls squarely on the perpetrators of the scam. Yes "Scam". And which "guy" are you referring to"? There was no guy Josh. It was a family conspiracy derived to gain the confidence of the child...and no "joke". It was a calculated plot.

The woman who created the fake profile has not been charged with a crime. She allegedly told the St. Charles County Sheriff's Department she created Josh's profile because she wanted to gain Megan's confidence to know what Megan was saying about her own child online.

The mother from down the street told police that she, her daughter and another person all typed and monitored the communication between the fictitious boy and Megan.

And yes, I agree with this too:

"But when adults are involved and continue to screw with a 13-year-old, with or without mental problems, it is absolutely vile," she told the Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis, which first reported on the case.

 

[COOL_BREEZE2]

Originally Posted by Dodge_Sniper
I'm not comparing myself.

Really? Read what you've written so far.

Sounds like a lot of comparisons going on there.

--------------->BULLSEYE!!!....Direct hit

 

[Boomer]

Ive been trying to stay outa this thread, but everyones in here! Its so durned sad.

 

[COOL_BREEZE2]

Did you even read the article you posted?

I'll have to assume, at this point, apparently not. Either that or he didn't pay sufficient attention. How'd a gun come in to the picture? SMH.

 

[COOL_BREEZE2]

I must have missed the cause of death. Rereading it as I type. :wtf:She hung herself? Damn. I couldn't go through with that kind of pain. Maybe she's tough after all?

Nahhhhhh!!!! Tell me this ain't so. WTF.

I was guessing but turns out I was right. For crying out loud man, you posted the bloody article and didn't take the time to read and digest it properly before you jump all over the place making all sorts of spurious comments?

This is laughable to say the least.

 

[groundpounder]

The parent only began the prank, the children kept it going. Apparently telling about it isn't helping, so here's a part of the rules of Myspace:

MySpace.com Terms of Use Agreement

MySpace.com reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to reject, refuse to post or remove any posting (including private messages) by you, or to restrict, suspend, or terminate your access to all or any part of the MySpace Services at any time, for any or no reason, with or without prior notice, and without liability. MySpace expressly reserves the right to remove your profile and/or restrict, suspend, or terminate your access to any part of MySpace Services if MySpace determines, in its sole discretion, that you pose a threat to MySpace and/or its Users.

1. Eligibility. Use of and Membership in the MySpace Services is void where prohibited. By using the MySpace Services, you represent and warrant that (a) all registration information you submit is truthful and accurate; (b) you will maintain the accuracy of such information; (c) you are 14 years of age or older; and (d) your use of the MySpace Services does not violate any applicable law or regulation. Your profile may be deleted and your Membership may be terminated without warning, if we believe that you are under 14 years of age.

Read the bold print.

fair enough. Now you go read it.
The mom lied about being "Josh," so she must be held accountable for that. She's an adult, a PARENT, not a minor, and she's weaving a web of lies that led to the untimely death of a 14 year old child? What do you not see about that as culpable?

The article states that she was UNDER the age of 14 at the time she signed up. That page is not too hard to find when you register for Myspace. The parents were ignorant and irresponsible, and should have looked over the rules and regulations that went with joining the site. I do not have any pity for this girl, because she broke a rule that resulted in her death.

Look at it this way: If a person breaks the law and robs a store, it's his fault if the cops shoot and kill him. With this story, it's the girl's fault that she died, because she broke the rules and joined a website against regulation.

you're just focusing on the wrong thing, Sniper, and it's unbecoming. It's not her fault. She got sucked in and then lied to. That's not age dependent. Take a broader look at this, young man.

 

[COOL_BREEZE2]

They were friends of the family. The girl who died's family was even storing stuff for the other family.

How could you do that to family friends. Yuck.

Just goes to show what kind of people they were.

 

[COOL_BREEZE2]

Ooooh Cheez-Its.......good idea

Give Jack his jacket. You sure called it from the beginning Nic. Remember what you said?

 

[Dodge_Sniper]

Precisely CB!

We are old enough to know and understand more on this kind of situation, than someone with that kind of attitude.

My attitude? All I said was that I know I'm going to get some negative replies to my opinion on the subject. I didn't know it was wrong to have an opinion on something.

Nahhhhhh!!!! Tell me this ain't so. WTF.

I was guessing but turns out I was right. For crying out loud man, you posted the bloody article and didn't take the time to read and digest it properly before you jump all over the place making all sorts of spurious comments?

This is laughable to say the least.

I love how you're assuming that because I didn't remember every single word of the entire article, I didn't read it.

So the self proclaimed root cause of your righteous indignation is the fact that she joined MySpace too early. You've state that over and over, so it's relatively clear.

And so if she would have joined ON or AFTER her 14th birthday, however many months later, the rose colored glasses that you're looking at this through would somehow be different. That's the conclusion we can draw from your numerous statements of her causing her OWN death by joining too early - if she had followed the rules, then the death wouldn't have been her fault.

It then would have been the fault of the immature adult who created a false online persona (violating the rules, BTW) so that her "Josh" could slyly obtain gossip about her kid from the kid that she thought was spreading it, then allowed that false account to be used for the most insidious of intentions which resulted in another person's death.

Correct?

There are no rules on Myspace that say you can't make a profile of a non-existant person. They do say you can't immitate a person that is already on the site, or that exists, but it does not specifically state, "You can't make up a fake person and parade around as that person".

Now, it does state " By using the MySpace Services, you represent and warrant that (a) all registration information you submit is truthful and accurate; (b) you will maintain the accuracy of such information".

In that case, yes, the person that created the "Josh" profile is wrong, but as I've said countless times in this thread, so is the girl. She created a profile on the website UNDER the required age, meaning she did not submit truthful and accurate information. This is what led to her death, in a chain of events. She registered under the required age, met this person, fell for him, etc. Now, if she had waited a few years(Depending on her age when she did register), obviously the family is not going to wait a year or more to pull off such a lame prank. Therefore, she wouldn't have met this person, and wound up killing herself. It's all rather simple. Ever hear of the Butterfly Effect? That one small, seemingly harmless, action that she carried out resulted in her death.

If you're not familiar with the Butterfly Effect, read this:

The phrase refers to the idea that a butterfly's wings might create tiny changes in the atmosphere that ultimately cause a tornado to appear (or prevent a tornado from appearing). The flapping wing represents a small change in the initial condition of the system, which causes a chain of events leading to large-scale phenomena. Had the butterfly not flapped its wings, the trajectory of the system might have been vastly different.

This is a classic example of this. She could have prevented this whole incident by simply following the regulations of the website.

fair enough. Now you go read it.
The mom lied about being "Josh," so she must be held accountable for that. She's an adult, a PARENT, not a minor, and she's weaving a web of lies that led to the untimely death of a 14 year old child? What do you not see about that as culpable?


you're just focusing on the wrong thing, Sniper, and it's unbecoming. It's not her fault. She got sucked in and then lied to. That's not age dependent. Take a broader look at this, young man.

You just proved my point again. All information is supposed to be truthful and accurate. Yes, the parties responsible for setting up the "Josh" profile were older, and understood their actions and the consequences more, but still, the girl obviously knew what she was doing was wrong. Try registering on Myspace, now. There's a field where you MUST choose your birthdate before registering. Obviously, she knows her own birthdate. She willingly chose to enter an inaccurate birthdate.

Going back to an early post I made, maybe if this girl had followed the required rules of Myspace, and joined when she was allowed to, I'd feel a bit more sorrow towards this whole thing. No, my opinion doesn't mean I think this girl deserved to die, it is certainly a tragedy, and she didn't deserve to die at all, but she broke the rules and knowingly joined under age. Yes, of course the other parties involved are at fault for this families loss, but I also believe the girl is partly responsible, as well as her parents, for not properly monitoring their daughter's online activity.

 

[groundpounder]

you're a child that's almost beyond help on this matter, but I'll try. One thing I can tell you just like I told Breeze on the telly, I'm not going to continuously and pointlessly debate a kid. I'll either reach you at some point and you'll be grown up enough to see what I'm talking about, or you won't. I'm not being patronizing, either. It's just you have a finite capacity emotionally to comprehend what you're saying and what I'm saying. And that's age-related because it's life-related. I'm over twice your age, so that doesn't mean I have twice the experience that you do (maybe more, maybe less - probably more), it just means I've had more than twice the amount of time to acquire it. understand that I truly believe that age is meaningless - it's just a number attached to the day you were born - but in some cases a few rings on the tree helps a person understand something better. I think that's the case here.

More later, then much much less after that.

 

[Dodge_Sniper]

you're almost beyond help, but I'll try. More later

We live in the US. Why do I need help having an opinion?

 

[Ria]

We live in the US. Why do I need help having an opinion?

Erm, because you posted this thread really!!!

 

[Peter Parka]

There are no rules on Myspace that say you can't make a profile of a non-existant person. They do say you can't immitate a person that is already on the site, or that exists, but it does not specifically state, "You can't make up a fake person and parade around as that person".

Isn't this what you said you did earlier on in this thread? Made up a fake profile for a celebrity, thus imitating someone? What makes you think you can critisise the girl from breaking myspace rules when you do too?:confused