Pro Anorexia Websites: Dangers and How to Help

Currently, there are hundreds of "pro-ana" websites creating an online community where fellow sufferers encourage each other to starve themselves further as dissuade each other from getting help. These pages are largely dominated by disturbing images of underweight women some of whom are emaciated. The images show protruding bones with captions such as "I want to be her" and "please let me have this body, she is perfection." There are also images of obese people warning others what would happen if they didn't stick to their dangerous routines.
Many website providers oppose this pro anorexia material and have quickly acted to shut them down. This has caused some to go underground, many are protected with passwords so that only members can enter. However, despite a lot of websites banning this material, there is still a worrying amount of pro anorexia material on some of the biggest social networking sites on the web; some of the biggest being Twitter and Instagram. Some of the worrying content is found thorough hashtags such as #thinspo and #ana in which sufferers post images to each other and motivate and inspire each other to carry on losing weight. Neither Twitter nor Instagram have banned this content. Instagram have issued a graphic content warning that appears before the images load, this also contains a link to an eating disorder help site. They have made attempts to ban content that promotes self harm, however this has led to the creation of "code word" hashtags that contain pro anorexia material but are very difficult to track and shut down.  On Twitter, the pro anorexia material is available for all to see and there are no warnings or attempts to shut it down. It seems that in terms of the social network policies on this issue, there is a long road ahead when it comes to eliminating this harmful content.

The most important thing to consider in relation to this issue, is how big a risk to these sites pose? And what can be done to help the people that use them and counteract their effects? Eating disorder experts are concerned with the effect that these websites have on vulnerable people, The director of the UK National Centre for Eating Disorders, Dr Davies, has expressed serious concern over the messages that these websites give out. "There are people out there who not only dissuade people from getting help but promote false and dangerous practices on how to lose weight."
Although the content on these sites is very worrying and disturbing to see, it is important that we understand why people that suffer with eating disorders, especially young women and girls, turn to them. For many sufferers of anorexia these sites provide an element of support that they feel they are unlikely to get any where else.
Research conducted by Dr Emma Bond looked extensively at the risks of the increasing number of pro anorexia sites. She reported that the risk posed by these sites vary according to the type of content and the frequency of visits. Young people that have low self esteem and low self confidence are most at risk and particularly vulnerable to the dangerous influence of pro anorexia websites. Dr Bond suggests that the reason girls fall into the trap of these sites is that often, when suffering with an eating disorder, the relationship between family and friends become difficult and people can feel isolated. These online "communities" can become a method of support and a place where they feel understood and accepted.
People that suffer with anorexia seek and strive for "perfection", based on an idea of thinness. This idea becomes normalised through these websites. Other members will reassure a sufferer that what they are doing is good and the right thing to do. This is extremely damaging and could have a serious impact on any attempt at recovery. It is the feeling of belonging and identification with a group that reinforces eating disorder behaviours. This sense of belonging can also prevent sufferers from seeking help and these sites also share tips on how to deceive parents and doctors into believing that they are eating when they're not, which is extremely worrying.
Dr Bond set out a number of recommendations for ways of dealing with the issues of pro eating disorder websites. These are as follows:

Education and awareness raising:
- It is important to make people aware of the content of these sites so they can realise what young vulnerable people are being exposed to.(e.g parents and teachers). However, it is also important not to inadvertently advertise these harmful websites to young people.

Understanding risk and harm in relation to young people:
- Mental health professionals and other relevant people need to be kept up to date on harmful online content.

Media responsibilty:
- The charity Beat has discussed that media coverage of eating disorders either glamourises or trivialises the illness. The media need to provide balanced and sensitive reporting of such issues.

Finding positive and helpful support:
-Helping young people to find positive help and support to aid recovery and still feel a sense of belonging that they often turn to pro ana sites for. An example of this support is the online help provided by Beat.

Warnings:
-Because pro eating disorder sites are mostly set up by people that suffer themselves, making them illegal would criminalise a young and vulnerable group of people. Using moderation and providing links to support services is a better way of dealing with the issue.


These sites are not used or run by bad people, they are people that are suffering with a serious illness and they do not need to be targeted and criminalised they need to be helped and supported.