Virtual Life – Reality Death

Could a social networking site cause a teenage girl to commit suicide? Facebook, a popular social network, allows someone to stay in contact with old friends, post albums to share, play games and become fans of favorite artists, celebrities and places. Are there any disadvantages to social networks? Could a disadvantage be death?

Cyber-bullying is becoming popular and prevalent as the number of suicides due to social media are increasing. According to Merriam-Webster, “cyber-bullying is the electronic posting of mean-spirited messages about a person (as a student) often done anonymously.”  Would you like to accept this friend request? Next time one should think twice after reading the following tragedies of two girls who wanted to be “accepted.”

On October 17, 2006, Megan Meier, 13 years old, committed suicide by hanging herself three weeks before her birthday. Meier had a history of depression and suicidal impulses. Meier had been under the care of a psychiatrist since she was in the third grade. Meier began a MySpace relationship with an attractive young man, “Josh Evans.” Josh Evans was not a peer but rather a 49 year old woman, Lori Drew who lived four houses away. Drew thought Meier was teasing her daughter so she started a fake account to humiliate her. Private messages were sent back and forth through the two MySpace accounts. However, the tone of the messages went from uplifting to cruel over a period of a few weeks. Drew wrote a message to Meier under the account of “Josh Evans” stating, “Everybody in O'Fallon knows who you are. You are a bad person and everybody hates you. Have a bad rest of your life. The world would be a better place without you.” Megan Meier replied, “You're the kind of boy a girl would kill herself over.” And that is just what she did, 20 minutes after the message was sent.

Missouri prosecutors decided not to file charges because they felt there was not enough evidence. The Federal Government decided, however, to pursue this case in California where MySpace is based. Thomas O'Brien, the United States Attorney for the Central District of California, personally prosecuted the case. Drew faced a maximum sentence of three years in prison and a 300,000 dollar fine.  On May 15, 2008, Drew was charged under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act.  In November 2008, Drew was found guilty of three misdemeanor charges.  Judge George H. Wu later granted an acquittal and overturned the jury's conviction on August 28, 2009. He stated that upholding the sentence would criminalize any violation of web site terms of service.

On January 14, 2010, Phoebe Prince, 15 years old, committed suicide after intense and relentless bullying after moving from Ireland to Massachusetts. She entered a new high school and started a brief relationship with a senior football player. Northwestern District Attorney, Elizabeth Scheibel, said in a press conference that the mean veteran girls of the high school did not approve of this relationship so they stalked her and called her a slut to her face, over the phone, and on Facebook. She was constantly harassed and threatened day in and day out. The bullying Prince endured became intolerable and she fell into a deep depression. “Apparently the young woman had been subjected to taunting from her classmates, mostly through the Facebook and text messages, but also in person on at least a couple of occasions,” school superintendent Gus Sayer told the Boston Globe. With no self-confidence, worth, or esteem, Prince committed suicide by hanging herself from her bedroom closet. Her younger sister found her there, dead.

The sickening thing is the nine students who ultimately caused the death of Phoebe Prince due to this abusive bullying did not feel badly. They mocked her death by leaving evil messages on a Facebook page created in Prince's memory. The nine students only received probation and 100 hours of community service.

What do people gain from gossiping or bullying? One might answer that a bully gains power, self-esteem, and confidence. Or do they gain knowledge? The knowledge that they caused another human being enough pain to take a rope and tie it around their neck.

Works Cited

"Cyberbullying - Definition and More from the Free Merriam-Webster Dictionary." Dictionary and Thesaurus - Merriam-Webster Online. Web. 29 May 2011. <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cyberbullying>.

"The Real Mean Girls: 15-Year-Old Girl Commits Suicide After Intense Bullying." Care2 - Largest Online Community for Healthy and Green Living, Human Rights and Animal Welfare. Web. 29 May 2011. <http://www.care2.com/causes/womens-rights/blog/the-real-mean-girls-15-year-old-girl-commits-suicide-after-intense-bullying/>.

Steinhauer, Jennifer. "Verdict in MySpace Suicide Case - NYTimes.com." The New York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. 29 May 2011. Web. 29 May 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/27/us/27myspace.html>.