The case of Megan Meier of Dardenne Prairie, Mo., has caused another twist in the tangled mess of minors chatting online gone wrong. The 13 year-old committed suicide less than 24 hours after an online MySpace relationship went sour. Megan was described as a “bubbly, goofy” girl, but had recently been suffering from depression. Six weeks before her suicide, Megan started an online relationship with a young boy, Josh Evans. The two talked for weeks and Megan’s mother said she monitored her daughter’s online activity. Josh told Megan he had recently moved to a nearby town and was being homeschooled. On Oct. 15 of last year, Josh abruptly ended the cyber friendship, stating he heard Megan was not a nice person. The next day Megan found online bulletins saying “Megan Meier is fat,” and, “Megan is a slut.” Megan’s parents tried to console her, but Megan ran up to her room. Twenty minutes later she was found in her bedroom after hanging herself. She died the next day.

As tragic as their daughter’s death was, the Meiers were even more shocked to learn six weeks later that Josh Evans was not a real person. The MySpace account was created by one of the Meiers’ family friends that lived down the street. The mother who created the account said she made it to spy on Megan to see what she was saying about her own daughter, who recently had a falling out with Megan. A year later, there still have been no charges made against the woman that created the account and the Meiers have separated and plan to divorce. The 13-year-old Josh Evans was only a cyber façade, but managed to destroy a family and shine a spotlight on the small town. The town mayor Pam Fogarty now says the town is working on a new ordinance relating to child endangerment and online harassment.

This event points to a need for new laws to be implemented in states across the nation that fit the modern technology of today. But more importantly the problem lies with individual families. Parents need to know what their kids are doing online if they are in the impressionable ages of middle school, but any attempts to meddle with their online social interactions will most likely result in a horrible outcome. Families should sit down with their kids and tell them what is or not acceptable Internet usage, but after that they should trust them to do the right thing. The case of Megan Meier is tragic, and unfortunately with Internet scandals there is often more than one person at fault. Megan’s parents should never have let their 13-year-old daughter create a MySpace profile, when the site states that users must be 14 or older to create an account. Megan is at fault for starting an online relationship with someone she did not know. And most importantly, the woman who created the fake profile is responsible for messing with the mind of a girl she knew already had problems with depression, and therefore is responsible for her death.