MEDIA ISSUE: TOO MUCH THINTEREST?

First it was dedicated 'pro-ana' websites, now 'thinspiration' is eating up Tumblr, Pinterest and Instagram, despite the best efforts of these sites to stop it. 

For those not familiar with this milestone term, thinspiration consist of photos, tips and angst-ridden quotes meant to provide visual inspiration and motivation for those looking to wittle their bodies down to a size zero. It's nothing new, but as it spreads across the internet, an increasing number of social-media sites are attempting to put a lockdown on it. However, this lock down doesn't seem to be doing the job it's set.

My Opinion:

When I trawled through various thinspiration Tumblr blogs, I came across 'Skinny Maybe Please', a blog full of hundreds of images of painfully thin, barely dressed women with concave stomachs, thighs as small as arms, and protruding collarbones and ribs. Some pictures are of professional models, others are just normal girls taking selfiess on their phones. Pages and pages of harrowing pictures and interlaced with text posts proclaiming "Skinny girls don't eat", as well as tips and tricks to make sure you don't succumb to that greatest of evils- food. 

Skinny Maybe Please Tumblr is considered to be 'thinspiration', the disturbing practice of posting pictures of underweight women on social media sites like Tumblr and Pinterest to remind and encourage its creators. Although I have come across the notion of pro-ana websites in the past (since they gained momentum in the late 90s), this time around, thinspiration (or 'thinspo') blogs have added disadvantage of being viewed and used by my generation - a generation stoutly devoted to their broadband internet connection. These communities, born out of shared motivation and a life lived online, now have the potential to reach countless women worldwide. 

Of course, not every user on Pinterest, Tumblr, Instagram or Twitter is posting images or even seeking out thinspo images, but seeing as though we can't control or predict what will come up in our feeds, it doesn't mean it won't affect you. Just being on Facebook last night was when I was first introduced to the 'thinspiration' world. I saw in my Newsfeed that a friend liked a photo linked to the 'thinspiration' group on Instagram, although I hadn't 'like' the page per se, doesn't mean I am blinded to the content uploaded on there. 

Given that we now spend hours and hours online every day, what chance do we have of eliminating these images from our screens and minds?

Reference: http://newsfeed.time.com/2012/03/29/thinterest-when-social-networks-and-body-image-collide/

Image source: http://indulgy.com/post/U75HuUErK1/thinspiration

Image source: http://www.ioniannews.com/features/article_c23e7d38-0da3-11e2-9b67-0019bb30f31a.html