MySpace Suicide: Are Megan Meier's Meds to Blame?

Submitted by stephanie on Sun, 11/18/2007 - 9:05pm.

Megan Meier was a 13-year-old girl who killed herself after being tricked by a fake MySpace boyfriend named "Josh." Josh, it turns out, was actually the parents of neighborhood child, playing a sadistic joke on the girl. Now Megan's parents are trying to push through measures to protect children online.

It's far too easy to blame MySpace for a child's suicide, since it's a new medium and an easy target for anger and frustration. But the fact is, kids have had to go through humiliation, rejection, and pain for a long time before MySpace ever existed. Megan could have just as easily been treated cruelly at school.

So why focus on MySpace? Could it be that the parents don't want to look at themselves and how they were managing Megan's depression? (Could they be in denial about their own role in creating her depression in the first place?)

So who's the real culprit here? I have a funny feeling it's the meds. And why aren't people talking about this more?

There's an astonishing lack of outcry against the medications Megan was taking. We already know that anti-depressants can increase the risk of suicides among children and teens. So why aren't the parents questioning the drug companies that sold these medications to them? Why isn't the media exploring that angle of the story?

To me, big pharma is what needs better regulation, not MySpace.

teens on medication

Submitted by Nikki (not verified) on Tue, 11/20/2007 - 7:11am.

Even though I have taken anti-anxiety medication for many years I have to agree that children/teens using such medication when there are already warning signs that it causes suicidal depression in them is absolute insanity. I was fortunate that I grew up in a time when medication was not used to subdue children.

I am a person who as an adult benefited immensely from the medication I take. Without it I would not have been able to live a normal life. But I believe a case such as my own is actually uncommon and rare. The number of adults with truly debilitating depression or anxiety is nowhere near as high as the number of people who are on such medications. What happened to cognitive behavioral therapy? Everyone just wants to feel better - well to that I say yoga. Meditation. Or jeez. just have a good cup of tea and listen to some Mozart.

I agree with you that MySpace cannot be held accountable.

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Megan Meier suicide

Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) on Mon, 02/25/2008 - 5:16pm.

I agree that to understand what happened we need to look at the parents, for starters. But also society. And religious and American values.

I have worked with sucidal teenagers for several years. If you are interested in the causes of teen depression and suicide, please vist my site.

Steve

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