Should pro-ana and pro-mia websites be regulated or banned?

¶ … PRO-ANA and PRO-MIA WEBSITES BE REGULATED, BANNED, or LEFT ALONE?

The objective of this work is to examine whether Pro-Ana and Pro-Mia websites should be regulated, banned, or left alone?

Eating disorders are common among today's youth and estimates state that approximately "...5% of women and 1% of men are affected by anorexia nervosa or bulimia." (Iannelli, 2003) Symptoms of these eating disorders include: (1) being underweight, losing weight or not gaining weight normally; (2) having an intense fear relating to weight gain; (3) a disturbed image of ones body; (4) in females who are having regular period, having amenorrhea, or the absence of at least three consecutive menstrual cycles; (5) induced vomiting in order to prevent weight gain, misuse of laxatives, diuretics, enemas, or other medications, fasting, or excessive exercise; and (6) refusal to eat and constant and ongoing dieting. There are other symptoms that are harder to detect among young people.

UNDERSTANDING PRO-ANA & PRO-MIA WEBSITES

The work of Chisholm and Fenaughty entitled: "Pro-Ana (Pro-Anorexia), Pro-Mia (Pro-Bulimia) and the Internet" state that the ten commandments from a pro-ana website are stated to be those as follows: (1) if you aren't thin you aren't attractive; (2) Being thin is more important than being healthy; (3) You must buy clothes, cut your hair, take laxatives, starve yourself, do anything to make yourself look thinner; (4) Thou shall not eat without feeling guilty; (5) Thou shall not eat fattening foods without punishing oneself afterwards; (6) Thou shall count calories and restrict intake accordingly; (7) What the scale says is the most important thing; (8) Losing weight is good/gaining weight is bad; and (9) You can never be too thin. (Chisholm and Fenaughty, nd) the Pro-Ana and Pro-Mia websites are reported to support messages such as: "Nothing Tastes as Good as Thin Feels" and supported as well is the practice in teaching "one another how to play the dangerous game, and how to figure out the minimum number of calories you need each day to stay alive. According to experts these social networks provide a sense of belonging" and somewhere they can discuss their problem where it is understood and accepted.

SUMMARY

The Pro-Ana and Pro-Mia websites, while appearing to perpetuate addictive behavior have been found during the course of this study to surprisingly have a primary function that might be used in treating these disorders as the very existence of these websites is bringing adolescent girls and their parents to the realization of an existing problem so they might seek help. Once the individual has committed to becoming one in a group of either Pro-Ana or Pro-Mia then in reality the addiction has been acknowledged in the life of the individual. Addiction recovery that is valid requires a phase of embrasure of the addiction in the form of acknowledging that one is impaired by some type of addiction, or in other words, these disorders ignored have no potential to be effectively dealt with much less recovery. Therefore, it may be that these websites serve a very important purpose which is a coming out of the darkness of hiding the addictive behavior into the light of admitting that a problem exists. Other implications stated by Pascoe show findings that these social networks hold great potential for possible effectuation of a treatment across these social networks in assisting these individuals to beat this addictive and dangerous behavior.