An Almost Fatal Obsession

My mother is a huge fan of Anderson Cooper and never fails to watch his show everyday. As a result, I get at least some idea of what is happening in the world. A few days ago, he was talking about the "Slender Man stabbing". The Slender Man is a fictional character that stalks, abducts and terrorizes people, especially children. Two twelve year old girls in Wisconsin were huge fans of this character, almost obsessed with him, and believed that by murdering someone the Slender Man would appear to them, as that was how the tale went. They concocted a plan to kill their best friend, by luring her under the pretence of a sleepover.

After stabbing her 19 times they left her there. Luckily she was spotted by a biker and taken to the hospital and saved just in time. What is happening to the world? How did this even occur to the two girls? At just 12, they're devising plots to kill people? And it wasn't out of anger or anything. It was some demented obsession with a fictitious character who kidnaps children. They almost killed their friend. Can you imagine the trauma she must have undergone? The poor thing must be scarred for life. 

What I don't seem to understand is, how could those two girls get so influenced by a fictitious character? When did they stop differentiating between reality and fiction? And how could such thoughts even enter their heads? How could they even contemplate murder? Aren't kids supposed to be all innocent and sweet then? They almost succeeded in murdering somebody, who was their friend. The world is going completely crazy. With people of all ages having access to the internet, how can anyone keep their children safe and innocent?