Cyberbullying

How can a person not believe in the depravity of man after reading stories such as the suicide of 13-year-old Megan Meier, bullied online by her friend's mother after falling out with the friend?

Josh contacted Megan through her page on MySpace.com, the social networking Web site, said Megan's mother, Tina Meier. They flirted for weeks, but only online — Josh said his family had no phone. On Oct. 15, 2006, Josh suddenly turned mean. He called Megan names, and later they traded insults for an hour.

The next day, in his final message, said Megan's father, Ron Meier, Josh wrote, "The world would be a better place without you."

Sobbing, Megan ran into her bedroom closet. Her mother found her there, hanging from a belt. She was 13.

Six weeks after Megan's death, her parents learned that Josh Evans never existed. He was an online character created by Lori Drew, then 47, who lived four houses down the street in this rapidly growing community 35 miles northwest of St. Louis.

A tale of our times with a host of lessons, if we could but hear them?

Discuss The Difference on Facebook

Well, having resisted significant pressure from various directions for some time, I have finally bitten the bullet and joined Facebook. I have to say, Iain Dale has a lot to answer for as he was the final straw that encouraged me to take the plunge; he was also the one who encouraged me to follow my instincts and start blogging!

So, if you are already a facebook member, let me extend to you a personal invitation to join the newly launched Facebook group for readers of The Difference. If you are not a member and want to help spread the word, just go ahead and register, then you too will be able to join us :-) You can use the forum to discuss articles you found most thought-provoking in the magazine or what you might like to see in future issues.

For those interested, my personal Facebook photo was taken during my recent visit to Venice.