Why 'Pro-Ana' needs to stop, now.

#proana #mia #thinspo #bonespo ... the list goes on. So what is it, and why have the French banned it, and why are the Dutch planning on following suit?

The Internet Age is a beautiful thing, and as a computer scientist, I often marvel at how far we have come in the past few decades. But with great power, comes great responsibility; as no one owns the Internet, it can be a bit of a free-for-all with unrestricted content spiraling into websites that can promote pretty much anything... Including eating disorders.


So what's all the fuss about? Whilst researching for this blog post, it meant entering the dark side of the Internet for me, which I found incredibly difficult. Tumblr is nutritiously famous for its sensitive content. Despite having a splash screen before entering a listed tag, with advice websites and emergency helplines, this can be ignored.

Pro-ana means pro-anorexia, and with a few clicks, you can access months worth of content from other people with the mental health problem, including advice on telling other people not to eat, images of their weight loss, graphic images of self-harm and so much more. Images that glorify mental health conditions, and make them seem 'acceptable' and 'normal' and nothing to be concerned about. This topic relates quite deeply with me, as someone who found their way into pro-ana and thinspo at the start of my eating disorder. I became almost brainwashed, after seeing image after image of skin and bones, getting advice from 'friends' online who did nothing but motivate me into an abyss.

Channel 4 recently aired a feature documentary entitled 'My Self-Harm Nightmare', which proposed to address this issue of:

Are blogs and websites responsible for increasing rates of eating disorders and self-harm?

The documentary explored the lives of a few girls who suffered from eating disorders and self-harm... However, the focus seemed to be a little more on showing actual content of pro-ana blogs than tackling the actual issue, including horrific images and the detailed fatal suicide of one girl. The Huffington Post reported:

Discussions of the documentary have also appeared on a pro-anorexia site, with users saying they found it "triggering and sensational" and "full of dramatic shots" - without focusing on actual mental health illnesses.

The documentary sparked outrage from fellow people with mental health illnesses in recovery, with even a comment from the head of media at Mind Charity, saying they were disappointed with Channel 4.

I think people on the Internet often forget that whilst they may be personally 'ok' with viewing such content, people that post it themselves could actually be the reason why someone's mental health problem worsens. In my opinion, it's a form of cyberbulling. I'm not saying that if just anyone viewed anything 'thinspo' they would immediately become mentally unwell, but if someone with maybe a disposition for low self-esteem and body image becomes exposed to it, their unrealistic expectations can become worse.

But how can it be stopped?

People have a right to the freedom of speech, so it is difficult to be able to block and filter the Internet. There is also a strong argument on the removal of these websites could result in higher suicide rates for the mental health reasons... But anorexia already has the highest mortality rate of any psychiatric disorder, as people can die of a direct result of the illness.

In my opinion, the online community needs a lesson in self-love and respect for other people. Proper guidelines need to be written into social media, and certain domain names should be not allowed to exist, proper school education etc... It's so much easier said than done. I'd be interested in your thoughts on the subject.

Take care,