Our close friends are there to support us.  We tell them our secrets and share our fears.  They enrich our lives and keep us in good health. But what happens when the ‘friends’ supporting us help fuel our biggest danger? Hiva Nekokar looks at a frightening internet trend that gives a whole new meaning to the word ‘buddy’.

With the advancement of the internet for social networking, all types of people can share all types of interests, so it makes sense that appearance is going to be one of them. And there shouldn’t be any harm it that. Unless that is, people with negative obsessions are coming together to form groups to fuel these problems instead of working to recover from them. One such example is Ana and Mia buddy websites. Ana and Mia (abbreviations for anorexia and bulimia) sites consist of mostly young girls, that have or are developing some form of eating disorder, coming together to form a social network which is ‘ProAna’ or ‘Pro Anorexia’.  From my research I discovered the term ProAna is hard to define.  At its most positive it suggests that these sites provide understanding, support and acceptance for girls who feel misunderstood. At its most negative it encourages eating disorders and promotes them as a lifestyle choice.

I spoke to Claire Lockwood, Services Coordinator for South Yorkshires Eating Disorders Association about what attracts girls to ProAna sites. She explained that many girls feel ashamed and isolated if they have problems with their eating, “If people are young and developing these thoughts and feeling, they can be a kind of hook”. I asked Claire what she felt the dangers are for vulnerable girls forming Ana friendships online where eating disorder advice is shared. “With an online friend who you don’t have to hide any aspects of your behaviour, there is a danger that it will prolong illness because eating disorders can be quite competitive in terms of weight.” It’s hard to believe that girls would support each other to stay ill or to reach dangerous target weights, but a quick glance at these sites and that’s what you see. 

Eating disorders (EDs) are life threatening psychological illness and have the highest death rate of any mental illness, but on ProAna web material they are shown as a casually adoptable fashion trend or lifestyle choice. These sites offer ‘Thinspiration’ imagery to inspire weight loss. Photos range from very disturbing anorexia shots to very thin celebrities such as Mary-Kate Olsen and Mischa Barton (the OC) who have admitted to being anorexic and have also been publicly criticised for encouraging young girls to follow.  The Academy for Eating Disorders describes these sites as ‘’playing directly to the psychology of its victims". Those with eating issues are very vulnerable and often ashamed to admit what they are doing.  Having somewhere safe to focus on and normalise their illness surely can’t be a good thing?

But some people argue that there are some pros to these websites and that by having non judgemental supports, teenagers with eating disorders can find understanding and acceptance so they no longer feel so isolated. Some feel that if the sites are banned girls could lose more self esteem and but more likely to self harm, rather than explore their problem without being patronised. Social networking site LiveJournal said of refusing to take down Pro Ana material that “suspending pro-anorexia communities will not make anyone suffering from the disorder become healthy again.”  It is true that people who become truly anorexia are likely to because of a variety of complex reasons and that a website or online friend alone isn’t going to be able to ‘convert’ them.  But  for those that are truly psychologically hooked there is a good chance they will feed the obsession and increase the risk of staying ill or getting worse as many recovering suffers have reported.

Claire said she could see how referring to the voice of Anorexia as a girl’s name, might be a factor in prolonging illness but that it can also be “helpfully to someone in recovery to see that voice as a separate person”.  She explained that if suffers externalise Ana they may be more likely to “see it as separate to themselves and something they can get rid of”. Some are also using the internet to tell their stories and appear to be glamorising anorexia through the videos they make.  I asked Claire if you felt they should be banned. “Many of them talk about being trapped and there’s often a suggestion of wanting help through making them. To ban them altogether might prevent people having access to a means of help”. She though a better solution would be if sites like YouTube, who showcase these videos, could flag up some of the support agencies and offer positive links.

One such positive link could be the recent development of Ana ‘evolution’ sites, who claim they are not promoting EDs as a lifestyle choice and instead offer support to recover. Ana Buddies in this context are encouraged to support each other to recovery from, and not maintain, EDs.  One site was keen to point out it doesn’t turn away anyone who wants to share Pro Ana advice though, because they would rather they exist in a supportive environment, that a negative one. It goes on to say lot of misconception around ProAna have been reinforced by the media, such as the ’Thin commandments’, a list of rules of how to maintain an eating disorder.  The list was created by expert Carolyn Costin, who used it as a way to undo mental behaviour in eating disordered clients. The site highlights the fact it has backfired and has been adopted as Pro Ana support guidelines on some sites.

I asked Claire if she personally thinks thin is beautiful. “I think beauty comes from within and it’s different for every person. We should be defined by ourselves and not the image the media presents to us”.  As a young girl under the pressures of staying thin and in shape, I agree. I think a healthy figure is beautiful, be it thin or curvy, it depends on what’s right for your overall shape. I agree with skinny socialite Paris Hilton who said, ‘No matter what a woman looks like, if she's confident, she's sexy.’ So if we work on the inside we’re more likely to like ourselves better on the outside. We shouldn’t let our weight get in the way of our lives and take over the way we think and behave towards the food we eat.

By Hiva Nekokar