Eating Disorders and the Internet: a Dangerous Mix

According to the Association Against Anorexia and Bulimia (ACAB), 11% of young Spaniards are at risk of suffering from some type of eating disorder. It is a health problem that especially affects girls, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

To this we must add another factor that enters into the problem: Internet content that encourages people to continue with harmful or pathological eating habits.

Eating disorders and their footprint on the Internet

In the annual report prepared by the ACAB in collaboration with the Internet Quality Agency (IQUA), which analyzes the increase in content on the Internet related to serious eating disorders, reflects that The group most likely to suffer from these diseases is young women and adolescents. (at an age between 12 and 24 years). Furthermore, it is estimated that there is a high vulnerability among those people who visit these web pages, since in the majority of cases (75%) they are minors.

In summary, The misuse of social networks and their relationship with eating disorders are a problem that especially affects young minors. with a worrying prevalence.

Pathological hashtags

In a study of the Internet Quality Agency (IQUA) carried out in 2010 for the Image and Self-Esteem Foundation it was revealed that There were nearly 2,500,000 posts tagged with the hashtag #anorexia and almost 4,000,0000 behind #ana and #mia.

For this reason, in 2012 the popular network for displaying images and “like addicts”, Instagram, took action and included in its list of prohibited tags (that is, those that would not obtain search results): #probulimia, #proanorexia, #loseweight, #thinspo, #thinspiration (thin “thinness” and “inspiration), etc.

Unfortunately, this measure did not eradicate the problem. Proof of this were the results of the study Dangerous hashtags on social networks that Laura Martin-Perez a DAIL linguist, published in the summer of 2015. In it he discovered new techniques used by Internet users that made hashtags more difficult to track.

A problem that resists

Up to 1,005 combinations of hashtags that appeared next to #ana and #mia, such as #skinny or recently, #thinspiration, the abbreviation of “thin” and “inspiration,” in addition to other hashtags that all Psychologists would recommend monitoring that goes beyond the food issue, such as #sue (suicide), #deb (depression) or #cat (self-harm; suicide).

Internet as a risk environment

In a more recent study conducted in 2016, the Dialogue Table for the Prevention of Eating Disorders of Catalonia also examined our search habits, concluding that 31.6% search for “how to lose weight quickly”, 11.6% “extreme diets to lose weight”, 10.8% pro-ana and pro-mia blogs and forums and 5.2% “how to vomit”.

Furthermore, it was emphasized that frequenting social networks and spending hours online is related to an increased risk of suffering from eating disorders and body image concerns.

The conclusion that can be drawn is that our internet search habits reflect the extent to which we are not immune to cultural pressure for beauty standards. Young adolescent girls are even more sensitive and likely to be negatively affected by these contents and, therefore, the use of social networks becomes a risky practice for this profile of Internet user (which does not mean that website is going to be harmful in all cases).

The power of influencers

In 2015, the model and Instagram star Essena O’Neill 18, revealed to the world that behind every photo of her there was a great deal of emotional suffering and dietary restriction and created a website to help other teenagers and young people to get rid of follows and likes. She was a influencerone of the most popular people on Instagram, and had more than 700,000 followers, a fact that gives you an idea of ​​the power of influence that Essena had.

The weight that these young models have on the Internet is overwhelming, given that 88% of young women declare that they follow influencers through social networks, according to the Annual Study of Social Networks 2016, from the IAB Spain. The fact that this type of role models of the network may be involved in potentially pathological eating dynamics raises alarm bells in several sectors related to health.

Use the social network to combat pathology

The precedent generated by the young Instagramer has led other people to combat food pathology online. These are initiatives in which use of the Internet is made to spread the critical spirit and Empowerment aimed at preventing the possible harmful effects of the Internet related to eating disorders.

Following the path of Essenia O’Neill, a young woman has been documenting her recovery on Instagram under the hashtag #anorexiarecovery. That is, she has reversed the pro-pathological use of the social network to set an example and promote a way of life away from eating disorders. In 2016 there are already several cases of new influencers who have followed in the footsteps of Essena O’Neill, and there are also specific claims from celebrities who criticize the social pressures that keep many young women away from healthy habits.

Social networks are still potentially dangerous

Nevertheless, Even today we can consider social networks potentially dangerous, at least for that risk group made up of girls and adolescents.

Laura Martin-Pérez considers it quite easy to keep a record of these pathological labels, apparently the administrations do not apply measures that go along these lines, so there are not enough control measures over the contents that can have a negative and harmful impact on the minors. Content that advocates anorexia or bulimia in a more or less veiled way continues to be a reality on the Internet.

So we must take another step to fight against these publications, reporting as adult users. Let us remember that minors still do not have that critical perspective that allows us to discern between health and extremism or pathology.