MySpace...TheirSpace

By now I'm thinking that most people have heard about the mother (Lori Drew) who created a bogus MySpace identity and eventually harassed a teen who eventually committed suicide after receipt of a depressing email. Lori Drew was convicted of a misdemeanor, not a felony. Background information is here. Quite a few people were angry and thought the outcome was not harsh enough for Ms. Drew.

As the debate continues concerning this case, I think Emily Bazelon at Slate.com was on the right track when she wrote: "Drew was an adult who secretly entered a teenage world and made it more dangerous." My view is slightly different however. I believe Lori Drew is a predator. The only part missing from this case and other predatory cases is the sexual intent. The imbalanced of power/age in the relationship is there, the secret identity by the adult is there, and the intent to do harm to a child is there.

The media is referring to the situation as cyber-bullying, but I think that term is best used when the communication is between children or between adults. An adult-child communication is predatory in my mind.