Should web groups that are considered harmful be removed from the internet?

@enzabird (130)
United States
July 20, 2008 7:44pm CST
As I was doing some research online this week I stumbled across something I found both disturbing and sad - Pro-ana websites. Several of the web sites falling under this categorization don't consider anorexia to be an eating disorder. Instead they are more of a support group for anorexics, going so far as to offer crash dieting techniques, tips on hiding weight loss, and "inspirational" pictures of individuals suffering in the severest phases of this disease. These "support" groups can be found on sites such as Xanga, LiveJournal, Facebook, and Myspace. Alarmed at this concept, several individuals have taken actions against pro-ana. Yahoo, after facing complaints, deleted pro-ana from Yahoo groups. Other groups, such as facebook, have refused to delete such sites, claiming that controversy isn't a reason to delete a group. My question is, should internet groups that can be considered harmful, such as pro-ana sites or pro-suicide support, be eradicated from the internet?
1 person likes this
1 response
@Wolfechu (1193)
• United States
21 Jul 08
The trouble here is, who gets to decide what's harmful? I agree on the Pro-ana thing, which has been plaguing Livejournal for years, but there's a hell of a lot of them, and they wouldn't agree. But where do you draw the line? There'd be an equal amount of people, if not more, that would consider Pro-Islam sites 'harmful'. Or Pro-Christian sites, for that matter. Whatever someone believes, there's someone out there who's violently opposed to it. It's been a problem on the Internet for as long as there's been an Internet, or at least since the explosion of the web in 1995. If anyone has quirky or unsocial behaviour patterns, there's going to be a group online which embraces and validates those beliefs. We've got furries, we've got people who think they're vampires or dragons, we've got people who fantasize sexually about having their limbs amputated. I'm not even close to touching the bottom of the barrel when it comes to weirdness, either. I suppose it comes down to the old quote about 'I depise what you say, but defend your right to say it'. None of them, when it comes down to it, are doing anything illegal, other than perhaps self-chlorinating the gene pool a little. None of the sites you mention would have anything in their terms and conditions that would cover such things. Hate crimes, yes, breaking the law, definitely, but otherwise, freedom of speech is pretty universal online. You do right in drawing attention to it, and it's your right to object to it, but facebook also have a point. And given the underlying current of body image and weight loss obsession that plagues society nowadays, I'd say it's really more a symptom of bigger problems than an actual problem in itself.
1 person likes this
@enzabird (130)
• United States
21 Jul 08
Thanks for the response and I agree completely with you. Although I personal find the content on Pro-ana to be disturbing, I agree with Facebook's decision to keep these sites on the web. Our first amendment rights are very important. If we start limiting conversation, then there is no telling how far censorship might go. It is a slippery slope. Because I have the right to speak out against anorexia and pro-ana, they should have the right to speak up as well.