Brittany McArdell
Ishida
Literature Review
12/12/11
Effects of Pro/Anti-Eating Disorder Websites/Social Networking
From growing up in gymnastics from a very young age all the way through my high school career I have been brainwashed into believing that I couldn’t be a successful or beautiful gymnast if I didn’t maintain a thin physical appearance. Gymnastics always prompted me to be thin and now is a constant topic on my mind; therefore I strive to be thin on a daily basis because of the connotation that gymnasts must be slender which was constantly drilled into my mind. Now that I have graduated and am no longer in the sport I have a higher self-conscience of my body image and a strong drive to keep thin and to thinner. Given my background of having body image and weight issues I was intrigued to research how the internet and social networking sites influence viewers.
Before initiating and reading scholarly research articles I contemplated various research questions and hypotheses I would potentially explore and answer while conducting my research. Through my research I would like to answer three research questions. First, I want to know what effects does pro/anti-eating-disorder websites/social networking have on viewers? Secondly, what do these websites and social networking pages promote? Finally, I want to know if viewers of these pro websites and social networking pages find successful treatment and recovery from eating-disorders. It is very important to find answers to my research questions because this is a fairly new topic since pro-eating-disorder websites have newly emerged within the last decade. This topic is also pertinent to study because audiences will be better informed as to how dangerous the content may be that they are viewing, especially for pre-teens and teens. Therefore, my hypothesis is that pro-eating disorder websites and social networking pages will create high levels of scrutiny regarding the effects they have on viewers, negative viewpoints and criticisms pertaining to what they promote, and low admission rates into treatment facilities therefore producing low recovery rates. Although to conduct this research, certain research methodologies and theories must be implemented.
Three research methodologies will be use to perform my research; interviews, participant observation, content analysis, and surveys and polls. Interviews will be very beneficial to my research because I will receive personal answers from the creators of these websites and social networking pages via email or Facebook message. To successfully conduct these interviews I wish to interview those who created these pro-eating disorder pages. Questions will pertain to their site or page, such as what was the purpose of creating this website or page? What are your goals to those who view this website or page? What kind of responses/comments/posts have you noticed from those who follow the page or patterns (content analysis)? Lastly, what is your overall satisfaction of creating this page? Are there positive or negative effects? Along with interviews I wish to use participant observation as another research methodology. It will be valuable to explore the field of pro and anti-eating-disorder websites and pages. To get an equal study amongst both pro and anti-eating-disorder content I will follow five pro-eating-disorder websites, five pro-eating disorder social networking pages, and five anti-eating disorder websites or pages. Only five websites or pages for anti-eating-disorders will be followed because I unfortunately found little information about such websites or pages and found very few anti-eating-disorder social networking pages. Little information, specifically research articles, was attainable because anti-eating-disorder websites and pages are equally as new we pro-eating-disorder websites and pages. Also, social networking pages were hard to locate because page names are typically under an alias name in order to protect users and viewers from family or friends from finding out their secret identity. Yet, in order to participate and observe within these websites and pages I wish to create an alias account therefore to conceal my personal identity so I can interact with users. Participant observation of this field will be studied for one year, particularly following novice and senior users. Once my participant observation is complete, a content analysis will be administered. Through content analysis I will study and analyze what I had found through participant observation; such as studying the content of communication messages between users. Within these messages I will predominantly focus and analyze keywords and descriptors. Aside from using methodologies pertaining to the interaction with those who are familiar with such websites and pages I would also like to know the opinions of those who don’t visit these sites and pages about whether or not these pages should be allowed on the internet. To gather opinions I will create a Survey Monkey survey and a poll on Facebook.
The Survey Monkey survey I prepared consists of four questions and was distributed to only those who I am friends with via Facebook. Unfortunately, out of my 325 friends only eight took the survey. Question number one asked: Do you believe those with eating disorders can find successful help and recovery while visiting and interacting on pro-eating disorder websites/group pages? All eight participants answered no; majority of them stating that these sites and pages only further reinforce eat-disorder behaviors, while another participant admitted to having an eating disorder and that if he/she viewed these sites or pages he/she would further be inclined to destructive behaviors. The second question was: what do you think pro-eating disorder websites promote? Common responses were the promotion of unhealthy and unrealistic body types, thinness, and encouragement to further their eating-disorder. The third question was: Should pro-eating disorder websites be allowed on the internet? Why or why not? Answers for this question were about half answering yes and half answering no. Most participants who answered yes stated that these sites and pages should be allowed because if they were taken off the internet it would violate amendment one in the Constitution, freedom of speech. Those who answered no simply went on to say that they create false images and destructive. Finally, the last question asks: would you think that anti-eating disorder websites are potentially making pro-eating disorder websites stronger in fear of being deleted? Again, participants answer about half yes and half no. Unfortunately, these answers were very short and provided little why or why not. As for the poll I created on Facebook, it merely asks “should pro-eating disorder (anorexia/bulimia) websites or groups be allowed on the internet?” Like the Survey Monkey survey I posted this question to my wall for my 325 friends to answer, though only 23 voted. Participants were able to choose from two answers: If yes, why? and if no, why? Fifteen answered no and eight answered yes. Those who decided to provide their reason as to yes or no both sides proved valid viewpoints. One participant who answered no stated: “No, as they glamorize a terrible illness. On the other hand, who's to be the one to regulate such sites? There are a number of choices a person can make - drugs, drinking, smoking, eating disorders, self-inflicted injuries - that can harm that person and be rooted in a mental illness or disorder. The internet is an unregulated place where free speech rules - can a government or entity regulate Web pages within the realms of free speech for the so-called good of a people who have the right to make their own decisions? Perhaps they should be like porn sites, in which you have to prove you are over age 18 to view - although we all know how well that works.” On the other hand, according to another participant they believe that “freedom of speech. If one thing is not okay to talk about, then nothing is okay to talk about.” This quote speaks for all that answered yes because they believe that such sites and pages should be allowed because if not it would take away from freedom of speech. Aside from the methodologies, theories must be applied to my research as well.
Three valid theories for this study are bullet theory, glittering generality, and uses and gratification. Bullet theory is quite apparent when researching this topic because pro-eating-disorder websites are producing a strong effect on audience members who are exposed to these websites. Glittering generality can be seen as well. This theory is used because the creators of these websites and pages create an atmosphere where words like “thinspiration” and “pro-ana/mia” are accepted and approved by viewers because they associate these words with a positive context. Uses and gratification is also used. This theory is evident because users are actively seeking out these websites and pages and aware of perhaps most of the content that they contain in order to fulfill their own gratification. Furthermore, users are proactively searching that will also increase their knowledge and social interactions within the pro-eating disorder community.
Thus far, I believe my methodologies, personal research, and theories have helped prove my hypothesis. The methodologies that I have chosen were found in the various research articles I’ve found, the answers I’ve gathered from research have further proven my hypothesis, and the theories have proven my hypothesis as well because users are targeted, believe that specific words are justified, and they are actively viewing and using these websites and pages. Moreover, I have found articles that additionally prove my hypothesis. For instance, in Pro-Anorexia Sites-A Patient’s Perspective (Davis, 1) she proves that the contexts in which pro-anorexia websites consist of are “aimed to shock and ultimately promote the site users pursuit of thinness,” which shows the negativities found within the content. Also, in Pro-Eating Disorder Communities on Social Networking Sites: A Content Analysis (Juarascio, Shoaib, Timko, 394) supports my hypothesis because the “viewership of these websites by individuals without an eating disturbance increases negative effect, decreases social self-esteem, and incrases negative body image.” Furthermore, Juarascio, Shoaib, and Timko state “individuals who actively participate in these sites are more likely to encourage each other to fast, not seek recovery, and have higher levels of body dissatisfaction and eating disturbance than do those who do not view these sites.”
Haven proved my hypothesis that pro-eating-disorder websites and social networking pages generate negative effects for viewers, they promote negative content, and produce negative results for those who are seeking treatment and recovery I believe that users need to realize that they are damaging themselves and others. This topic needs to be further research to prove at higher levels the destructive effects that these websites and pages have.
References
Corrigan, K. Finding community in cyberspace: Pro-eating disorder websites. Relational Child and Youth Care Practice, 23, 48-59.
Davis, J. Pro-anorexia sites-A patient’s perspective. Practitioners’ Toolkit, 97.
Day, K., Keys, T. (2008). Journal of Gender Studies. Starving in cyberspace: a discourse analysis of pro-eating-disorder websites, 1-15.
Harper, K., Sperry, S., Thompson, J. K. (2008). International Journal of Eating Disorders. Viewership of Pro-eating disorder Websites: Association with Body Image and Eating Distrubances, 41, 92-95.
Johnson, L., Randall, C. (2011). Sunday Express. 10% of girls are fans of pro-anorexia webistes, 9.
Juarascio, A. S., Shoaib, A., & Timko, C. A (2010). Pro-Eating Disorder Communities on Social Networking Sites: A Content Analysis. Eating Disorders,18, 393-407.
