Yeah, it's fucking disgusting. They want to experience the dizzying highs and then once the inevitable low comes, they get the fuck out of there because that's when it stops being fun.

I get that all the time too. I have borderline personality disorder and I'm always willing to educate people on it, as it's so widely misunderstood (especially among men). I can't even count the number of times I've had 'damaged' or 'dangerous' hurled at me, or been compared to some guy's 'crazy ex'. Such a fucking…

"She is damaged."

Not to mention that when they hear their kid babbling incessantly about something called Slenderman, ignore them. If they were paying any attention to their kids it's pretty likely they would have noticed the obsession.

Not that any of us should be keen to add yet another guilty party to this, but I'm almost hoping that's the case, for the sake of these young girls. It would also provide a cleaner, good old fashioned villain.

a couple of days ago I asked my 12 year old daughter who slender man was, she said "some creepy guy on the internet" I asked her if she thought he was real... She said "no, duh mom" and rolled her eyes.

Does anyone else think the excessive media coverage of violent crimes is setting off sick minded people? Ever since Sandyhook and the theater shooting there have been so many more shootings than ever before.

White people, don't let your kids read the internet.

Seems to me like kids (the younger the worst) are living too much inside their heads and the internet is their playground. Not placing blame on the internet or any media though, I think these kids definitely suffer from mental illness and that needs to be treated and addressed. But FFS don't let them surf the web…

As a middle schooler, my friends and I were obsessed with what we called "the death books," which was a series of books about teen girls who fall in love with boys but one of them is tragically dying (or some other person is dying and it gets in the way) and not even love can save them. We were also obsessed with the…

Unfortunately, unless I can mull over my arguments for hours on end, I often get caught up in my own thought process and don't deliver in the most effective way. I am also wicked jet-lagged, so I am struggling to deal with basic functions at this time. My apologies if my points are less than astute.

It's funny you should say that, even if it was sarcasm. I am currently working toward my doctorate in Psychology, a huge portion of my focus being on childhood development/cognitive development, abnormal psychology (with a concentration in childhood AP), and I have a minor in Sociology.

I was kind of thinking the same thing. If Elliott Rodgers obsession with MRA is considered a contributor to his murdering 6 people, why can't these girls obsession with Slender Man? It led directly to their attempted murder of a supposed friend.

I find it very bizarre that many of you, who are capable of understanding that socialization, media, commentary, images, etc. influence sexism, racism, rape culture, etc. etc., are unable to make the EXACT SAME connections here.

Surprise! It's 2014 and we're all still scared of goths and communists!

It is compounded exponentially when we're talking about children's developing minds. ESPECIALLY when it's encouraged/supported by the child's number 1 support and role-models; their parents.

Yeah, I used to be drawn to some really dark, sombre stuff. I also was depressed. I'm pretty sure the depression came first but after a while it became a question of the chicken and the egg. I think that the images and stories we consume absolutely influence our mindsets. That's one of the major tenets of the "power…

You're kidding yourself if you don't think the parent's interests heavily influenced these children's minds.

I'd rather it did, actually. Hell, I'd be okay with a reputation as the chick who beats the shit out of paparazzi and dares them to file charges, because anytime they filed charges, I'd file right back for all the shit they pull. Stalking, harassment, emotional abuse, and verbal abuse, plus a civil suit for…

Clarissa Ward is wearing appropriate attire for the situation, practicing professionalism.