Friend Game: Behind the Online Hoax That Led to Suicide

[fuzzis]

Friend Game (http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/01/21/080121fa_fact_collins)

Behind the online hoax that led to a girl’s suicide.

I was going to post a couple of quotes from the article but decided against it. I will, though, say that lots of things there rang true.

It's a long article. Sad. Very, very sad.

[BelieveInHim]

It is indeed a very sad story. What is even sadder is that is it is happening right here in our area. Maybe not, (thankfully not, yet) to the extreme of a child committing suicide, but the mean spiritedness of children today. Be around a group of teenagers over 30 minutes and you will have at least one that is being shunned, ridiculed or talked down to. What happened to parents teaching their children that no kind act goes un-noticed? It was bad when my oldest was a teenager, but has worsened in only 6 years. It doesn't matter how pretty you are, ugly, skinny, fat, smart, dumb, the amount of money you have, the kids today (especially the girls) are the meanest I have experienced. If you could only see the writings I have copies of where girls talked to my child online through myspace and aim. the page I had myspace delete because a friend made a page pretending to be her making her into a horrible person. The hurtful things they said. Not just one, but many who pretended to be her friend and turned on her. Why did they turn on her? My only guess is because she is kind, good hearted, and never has a mean thing to say to anyone. She lives Christ-like, turning the other cheek, and loving. I say a daily prayer that the parents of America will wake up and see what their children are doing. I know these things because I am all over my childrens business. It is my job as a parent. My children have accepted my "nosiness" and show me more love than I could ever show my parents. I can only pray that what these mean kids will turn into loving and caring people one day. How has my child survived? She is smart enough to know that it is a sign of immaturity. We taught her that only the strong survive and what comes around goes around. Guess what! She has seen it happened. Now she has tons of people who love and respect her and all of those who tried to hurt and destroy her are in the very shoes they put her in. She didn't have to do a thing.

[fuzzis]

It's not just teenagers and children, though. It's adults too.

[LipsofanAngel]

Yeah, it seems like for me- 7th grade was when I noticed things got "ugly"... but eventually I thought people grew out of it. Not it seems that it starts as soon as age 5, and continues far in to adulthood.