‘You can’t save people from themselves’:
This about just one of the many scourges on the internet that I talk about but this one has nothing to do with crime per se. This has to do with websites that proclaim that eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia are not diseases but ‘lifestyle choices’.
That’s right. You heard me correctly. There are people out there who actually believe that disorders like anorexia are not only good but are a viable alternative to…you know…eating.
The article sort of poses the question should pro-ana and pro-mia sites be censored? Now if you mean censored in the way that they should be outlawed by the government then no. If you mean censored in the way that webhosts like Livejournal, MySpace, and Xanga should shut them down for violating their TOS then yes.
But places like MySpace, LiveJournal, and Xanga do not want to shut these groups down. They claim that it’s free speech but we all really know what it’s about. They don’t want to alienate a part of their userbase that clicks on their advertisements which in turn makes them money. Never mind if a few people end up killing themselves over what they call a lifestyle choice, there’s money to be made from those skeletons.
Webhosts like MySpace and the like need to be more personally responsible instead of financially responsible. If these groups were to be shut down would it really hurt the bottom line?
If there was a pro-suicide group would the webhosts allow those? Because claiming that eating disorders are a choice is basically the same thing.