Ban ProAna Social Networking Sites
Harmful Tips for Thinspiration Grow on MySpace, Facebook and YouTube
Do websites that encourage pro ana and pro mia need to be restricted?
Free speech is an important part of our North American society. But the widespread growth of pro ana and pro mia web sites (sites that promote eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia) are running rampant.
Social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook and YouTube are home to hundreds of pro eating disorder profiles, groups and thinspirations videos and photos. The individuals who participate in them support each other to continue their sick behavior and motivate them to stay in the destructive mindsets.
Social Networking Sites
The progression of MySpace, Facebook and YouTube has been extraordinary. Young people, especially, have proven that they love being on-line and communicating with each other via the internet. Unfortunately, people who are struggling with an eating disorder have collected together in order to give approval to their dangerous lifestyles.
"Rather than censor these groups, we are working to create partnerships with organisations that provide resources and advice to people suffering from such problems, and we will target those groups with messages of support," a spokesperson for MySpace has been quoted as saying (Daily Mail, 2007).
Banning the Groups
Recently, many charities and non-profit groups have been making their opinion about the networks known. They believe that pro eating disorder groups and profiles should be banned from public sites so that users can’t encourage each other to be sick. They affirm that by not letting the individuals form unhealthy support with each other, it will help them to realize that they need treatment.
Beat, the well known charity in the UK, has commented that “responsible” search engines have begun deleting sites that are pro ana or pro mia, but social networking sites don’t seem to have the same control.
To Ban or Not to Ban
Would banning these types of groups be beneficial or is it injustice to stifle so many voices? The principal of the National Center for Eating Disorders said that she won’t take a firm opinion, as she also believes that some of the groups help people recover. And anyways, she continues, they’ll only crop up in another guise.
The mega sites do ban some content, as seen in their terms and conditions. Profiles that are hateful to race or religions and that are threatening to others are removed, but pro eating disorders are put into a grey area. How can we individually fight the rise in eating disorders? By raising intelligent and well rounded children who can make their own decisions and by being stable role models for the next generations to come.
