One of the largest eating disorder treatment centers in Britain has asked social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook to close down pro-anorexia Web sites. In response, the sites made the brilliant excuse that it’s difficult to distinguish between support groups and pro-eating-disorder groups. Aha.
For the answer, let’s turn to my former my newsroom-mate David Rivelli, wrote an article this fall about pro-anorexia web sites for Medill Reports-Chicago. He sums it up rather well:
“The sites offer tips on how to hide anorexia from family members, encouragement to push for weight-loss goals, displays of graphic images that serve as motivation and a platform for a twisted support group.”
Another clever twist from Facebook:
“A spokesperson for Facebook said the site supported the free flow of information. “Many Facebook groups relate to controversial topics; this alone is not a reason to disable a group.”
I’m all for free speech, but a simple Google search brought up Web sites that made me absolutely nauseated. Is this what our founding fathers had in mind when they protected our right to uncensored expression?
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1 » Eating disorders don’t end at 18 Millennial Mind: Helping young adults navigate the world of mental illness // Feb 25, 2008 at 8:57 pm
[…] my classmate Andrea Bartz reports that social-networking sites such as MySpace and Facebook are being asked to remove groups […]
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