Pro-anorexia (or “pro-ana”) groups have been around online for over a decade, and we first discussed them here five years ago. More recently, with the rise of social networks such as Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, these groups have found a new life. Often associated with the label “thinspiration,” these groups elevate the idea of being thin to a virtual religion.
People who are all about thinspiration engage in disordered eating in order to be as thin as possible — a common symptom of anorexia. But they don’t see it as a disorder or a problem, making this an insidious problem.
Nonetheless, such eating and self-image problems can result in health problems, even putting the individual’s life at risk.
Some people have sought to get common words or terms that people engaged in thinspiration use banned from social networking websites. One such woman is Torri Singer, a broadcast journalism major who has recently begun a petition to get such terms banned from Twitter.
You wouldn’t think Lady Gaga and the state of Nevada have much in common. 
Sadly, the lynch mobs were out in full force on Friday on Twitter and other online media, threatening the radio show hosts after a prank phone call they made to a nurse who took the call later committed suicide.
So 
If you’re thinking about posting your health or mental health concerns on Facebook or Twitter, you may want to think twice.
With more and more therapists embracing social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter, the question arises — where do you draw the line in terms of boundaries with your patients? Where does a patient’s and therapist’s privacy end or begin on such sites? How do patients and therapists navigate this brave new world of connectedness and “friending”?
Demonstrating the intrinsic nature of twitter as a stream of group consciousness more than anything else, the Haiti tragedy has brought out the rumor mill. And with it, it demonstrates one of the underlying weaknesses of relying on a group stream of consciousness — it’s not always the most accurate thing in the world.
Every day, our behavior is directly influenced by a number of factors, some of which we may not even be consciously aware of. How things are designed is one of those factors.
I sometimes wonder if we’re not living in a mirror world every 20 or 30 years. Because it seems like that’s about the time period where some new technology comes along, and suddenly adults — almost always led by well-meaning doctors, child professionals and researchers — get up in arms about the negative effects of that technology on children.
One of the challenges faced by people who have a mental illness — such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, or ADHD or the like — is that not too many people will talk to you about “curing” the condition. (Except snake-oil salesmen, who will claim they can cure your bipolar disorder with their amazing technique or CD.) In fact, you’d be hard-pressed to find a professional who talks openly about “cures” for mental illness.
