Are Your Kids Using Mindspring?

Extreme Cyberbullying Targets Local Teen

A new, popular social networking website that allows kids to post comments anonymously was used in an extreme case of cyberbullying that sent a local girl to the hospital for five days under a suicide watch.

A local 14-year-old girl was hounded on Formspring.me to such an extent she felt the only way to relieve the pain was suicide.

The teen's mother showed some of the transcripts, many of which are so graphic they cannot be reprinted here. Numerous times the anonymous writers encourage the girl to kill herself, and other posts say she is hated by everyone at school and how other students would love to see her strangled.

A teen living in Long Island encountered a similar scenario in March, but the taunting ended in tragedy. Alexis Pilkington, 17, was college-bound with a soccer scholarship when she was targeted by a whirlwind of Formspring posts, and eventually committed suicide.

"Teenage suicide. It is one of the most painful things you can go through," said Alexis' father, Thomas Pilkington.

"It's like a worldwide public bathroom wall," said Formspring user Tyler Gearing. "
According to the New York Times, Formspring has only been up since January but gets 24 million hits a month.

The local cyberbullying victim is now off suicide watch and has been released from the hospital. Her mom canceled her Formspring account and transferred her to another school district.

Are Your kids using mindspring?