Read Online Defending Jacob by William Landay - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: William Landay
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when messages from Ben’s classmates continued to accumulate in a ghostly way until the page was removed at his parents’ request.
The new “tribute” page apparently was opened in response, to give kids a place to go on posting messages about the murder. The title, “♥ Friends of Ben Rifkin ♥,” seemed to use
friends
in the Facebook sense: it was open to anyone in the McCormick class of 2007, whether or not they had actually been Ben’s friend.
At the top of the page was a small photo of Ben, the same one he had used on his personal page. Presumably it had been cut-and-pasted from the dead boy’s old page by whoever launched this group. The picture showed Ben smiling, shirtless, apparently on a beach (the sand and ocean were visible behind him). He was making a “hang loose” gesture with his right hand. Down the right side of the page there was a panel called the Wall, filled with messages in reverse chronological order.
Jenna Linde (McCormick Middle School) wrote at 9:02pm on April 17th, 2007
I miss you ben. I remember our talks. i love you forever i love you I love you
Christa Dufresne (McCormick Middle School) wrote at 8:43pm on April 17th, 2007
this is the cruelest thing whoever did this. I will never forget you Ben. I think about you every day. ♥♥♥♥♥♥
It is important to note that in 2007 Facebook was still largely a kids’ paradise. Its explosive growth among adults happened in the following couple of years. That was the case in our circle, at least. Most of the parents at the McCormick School looked at Facebook now and then to monitor what their kids were up to, but that was about it. A few of our friends joined, but they rarely used it. There were not enough other parents there yet to make it worthwhile. Personally I had no idea what Jacob and his friends saw in Facebook. I could not grasp why all this information-churning was so compelling. The only explanation, it seemed to me, was that Facebook was where kids went to be away from adults, their secret place where they strutted and flirted and goofed around with the bravado they could never muster in person in the school cafeteria. Jacob, certainly, was much more clever and assertive online than in person, as many shy kids are. Laurie and I saw the danger in allowing Jacob to carry on like this in secret. We insisted he give us his password so we could check up on him, but honestly, Laurie was the only one who ever looked at Jacob’s Facebook page. To me, the kids’ online conversation was even less interesting than the offline version. If I ever looked at Facebook back then, it was because the face in question was in one of my case files. Was I a neglectful parent? In hindsight, obviously yes. But then we all were, all the parents at Jacob’s school. We did not know the stakes were so high.
There were already several hundred messages on the “♥ Friends of Ben Rifkin ♥” page.
Emily Salzman (McCormick Middle School) wrote at 10:12pm on April 16th, 2007
I am still totally wigged. who did this? why did you do it? why? what was the point? what did u get out of it? this is just so sick
Alex Kurzon (McCormick Middle School) wrote at 1:14pm on April 16th, 2007
at cold sprg pk now. yellow tape still up. nthng to see though. no cops.
The messages went on like this, unguarded, confessional. The Web created an illusion of intimacy, a byproduct of the kids’ dazed immersion in the “virtual” world. Alas, they were about to learn the Web belonged to grown-ups: I was already thinking of the subpoena
duces tecum
—the order to produce documents and records—that I would send to Facebook to preserve all these online conversations. In the meantime, avid as an eavesdropper, I went on reading.
Dylan Feldman (McCormick Middle School) wrote at 9:07pm on April 15th, 2007
Jacob STFU . if you dont want to read it, go someplace else. you of all people. f*ck off. he considered you a friend. dickhead
Mike Canin (McCormick Middle School) wrote
The new “tribute” page apparently was opened in response, to give kids a place to go on posting messages about the murder. The title, “♥ Friends of Ben Rifkin ♥,” seemed to use
friends
in the Facebook sense: it was open to anyone in the McCormick class of 2007, whether or not they had actually been Ben’s friend.
At the top of the page was a small photo of Ben, the same one he had used on his personal page. Presumably it had been cut-and-pasted from the dead boy’s old page by whoever launched this group. The picture showed Ben smiling, shirtless, apparently on a beach (the sand and ocean were visible behind him). He was making a “hang loose” gesture with his right hand. Down the right side of the page there was a panel called the Wall, filled with messages in reverse chronological order.
Jenna Linde (McCormick Middle School) wrote at 9:02pm on April 17th, 2007
I miss you ben. I remember our talks. i love you forever i love you I love you
Christa Dufresne (McCormick Middle School) wrote at 8:43pm on April 17th, 2007
this is the cruelest thing whoever did this. I will never forget you Ben. I think about you every day. ♥♥♥♥♥♥
It is important to note that in 2007 Facebook was still largely a kids’ paradise. Its explosive growth among adults happened in the following couple of years. That was the case in our circle, at least. Most of the parents at the McCormick School looked at Facebook now and then to monitor what their kids were up to, but that was about it. A few of our friends joined, but they rarely used it. There were not enough other parents there yet to make it worthwhile. Personally I had no idea what Jacob and his friends saw in Facebook. I could not grasp why all this information-churning was so compelling. The only explanation, it seemed to me, was that Facebook was where kids went to be away from adults, their secret place where they strutted and flirted and goofed around with the bravado they could never muster in person in the school cafeteria. Jacob, certainly, was much more clever and assertive online than in person, as many shy kids are. Laurie and I saw the danger in allowing Jacob to carry on like this in secret. We insisted he give us his password so we could check up on him, but honestly, Laurie was the only one who ever looked at Jacob’s Facebook page. To me, the kids’ online conversation was even less interesting than the offline version. If I ever looked at Facebook back then, it was because the face in question was in one of my case files. Was I a neglectful parent? In hindsight, obviously yes. But then we all were, all the parents at Jacob’s school. We did not know the stakes were so high.
There were already several hundred messages on the “♥ Friends of Ben Rifkin ♥” page.
Emily Salzman (McCormick Middle School) wrote at 10:12pm on April 16th, 2007
I am still totally wigged. who did this? why did you do it? why? what was the point? what did u get out of it? this is just so sick
Alex Kurzon (McCormick Middle School) wrote at 1:14pm on April 16th, 2007
at cold sprg pk now. yellow tape still up. nthng to see though. no cops.
The messages went on like this, unguarded, confessional. The Web created an illusion of intimacy, a byproduct of the kids’ dazed immersion in the “virtual” world. Alas, they were about to learn the Web belonged to grown-ups: I was already thinking of the subpoena
duces tecum
—the order to produce documents and records—that I would send to Facebook to preserve all these online conversations. In the meantime, avid as an eavesdropper, I went on reading.
Dylan Feldman (McCormick Middle School) wrote at 9:07pm on April 15th, 2007
Jacob STFU . if you dont want to read it, go someplace else. you of all people. f*ck off. he considered you a friend. dickhead
Mike Canin (McCormick Middle School) wrote
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