Pro ana
What exactly is pro ana?
Pro ana is a disturbing view of anorexia
held by some anorexics that it is not an
eating disorder but actually a lifestyle
choice.
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The personification of an eating disorder
Anorexics suffering in silence and loneliness
have turned to the internet to create their own
support group. "Pro-ana" sites are internet
sites that promote anorexia as a personal choice,
and provide information and help for its views to
continue the self-destructive behaviors associated
with anorexia nervosa.
The disease has been personified and given the name "Ana".
It is often referred to as their only true friend that will never
leave... "Ana" will always be there for you.
Pro ana sites put our children at risk
The National Eating Disorders Foundation has been waging a
campaign to get these pro-ana sites removed from the internet.
They have successfully lobbied some influential search engines like
Yahoo! from removing these destructive sites from their search
results pages, or simply disabling the link to their site.
Unfortunately, for every pro-ana site that is removed from the
internet, many more pop up to replace it. It is unrealistic to expect that
all of these sites will be removed from the internet as it violates
some of principals of free speech.
Steps you can take to protect your children
The internet is a wonderful and powerful tool, parents need to
pay close attention to what their children are visiting on the
internet. Software tools and tips are available to restrict
access to this content, and to actually see what your children are
surfing for on the internet:
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Check the browser history. You
can access the last few weeks of pages viewed on the
internet by reviewing your browsers history cache. In
each type of browser their is an option in their tool bar to
review the history of pages viewed.
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Install filtering software.
There are several commercial software options available that
can help you block access to internet sites deemed
objectionable content. Some of the more popular
packages are Net Nanny, Cyber Patrol, and Cyber Sitter.
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Install recording software.
This step is more involved and actually records a copy of
every single page screen viewed on your computer.
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