Megan Meier’s Story
Copyright © 2009 Parry Aftab, All
Rights Reserved by Wired Safety
What is Cyberbullying?
• Cyberbullying is any communication sent by
a minor via instant message, e-mail, game
device, etc. that is meant to scare,
humiliate, hurt, or manipulate another
minor.
• Short definition: It’s when one young
person uses digital technology to hurt
another young person.
Copyright © 2009 Parry Aftab, All
Rights Reserved by Wired Safety
Think it Doesn’t Affect Teens? Think Again.
These teens all took their lives after being cyberbullied, and they
aren’t the only ones.
Copyright © 2009 Parry Aftab, All
Rights Reserved by Wired Safety
Megan Meier’s Story
• Megan was three weeks away from her
fourteenth birthday when she died. She had
been bullied most of her life, especially in
middle school. She was heavier than her
classmates because of medication she was
taking.
• But Megan’s luck began to turn around when
she met “Josh” a sixteen-year-old boy, on
MySpace.
• Megan and Josh were soon exchanging
messages daily. They chatted for six weeks,
and Megan’s feelings intensified. It was the
first time a boy had ever thought she was
“pretty.” She thought her life was turning
around.
Copyright © 2009 Parry Aftab, All
Rights Reserved by Wired Safety
Then Things Changed – Fast!
• One day, out-of-the-blue, Josh told Megan, “I
don't know if I want to be friends with you
anymore because I've heard that you are not
very nice to your friends.” Megan was
shocked and confused.
• The next day, the messages continued. Other
teens joined in and cruelly taunted her about
her weight, which she had struggled with
since childhood. Megan’s mother Tina, who
normally monitored her MySpace account,
was not home at the time of the attacks.
• Over 2-1/2 hours she was attacked and tried
to defend herself. But it only got worse.
Copyright © 2009 Parry Aftab, All
Rights Reserved by Wired Safety
Words Do Hurt!
• Megan became hysterical. She had called
her mother who told her to sign off right
away.
• But she didn’t. When her mother came
home, she was angry with her daughter
for continuing to argue with the bullies.
• “You’re supposed to take my side!”
Megan expressed in vain as she stormed
to her bedroom.
• When Tina noticed that the last message
on her daughter’s screen was, “The world
would be a better place without you,”
and her daughter’s response “You’re a
boy worth dying for…” she rushed to her
daughter’s bedroom.
Copyright © 2009 Parry Aftab, All
Rights Reserved by Wired Safety
Too Late for Megan…Still Time for
You and Your Friends
• It was too late to save Megan, who had
hanged herself in her bedroom closet.
(She died the next day.)
• Tina Meier was outraged when it was
revealed that Josh never existed. Josh
was the creation of Lori Drew, a mother
of one of Megan’s former friends. She
had wanted to gain Megan’s trust in
order to see if Megan was talking about
her daughter. (So she testified.)
• Lori Drew was criminally charged, but
the charges later dismissed.
Copyright © 2009 Parry Aftab, All
Rights Reserved by Wired Safety
Some Teens Did Something…
• Teens in NY decided to do something, instead of just
feeling bad about what happened to Megan and others.
• They created a pledge for all students to take as a school
and named it for Megan.
• The Megan Pledge uses black and white polka dots
(Megan’s favorite) as its theme.
• It has a large banner students can sign, pledge
certificates and helps them create ribbons to wear.
Copyright © 2009 Parry Aftab, All
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StopCyberbullying
• Take the Megan Pledge and commit yourself to
understanding that suicide is never an option.
• Become part of the solution instead of the
problem by promising to never engage in
cyberbullying and to report it whenever you see
it.
• For more information about the Megan Pledge
and what you can do to help, visit
StopCyberbullying.org
Copyright © 2009 Parry Aftab, All
Rights Reserved by Wired Safety