Tumblr announced today that it will now start banning any blogs or content that is Pro-Eating Disorder or Pro- Self Injury.   Mark Coatney from Tumblr expects several thousand pages to be taken down as a result of this new initiative. Tumblr will also provide information and resources for those who search for pro-ana or pro-mia tags or key words.  This is a positive step toward encouraging healthy and accurate information on social media platforms.  For more information please visit the full BBC news article.

What are other Social Media Sites doing about Eating Disorder information? 

• Facebook doesn’t allow the promotion of suicide, ‘cutting’, or eating disorders. Content that does violate the terms may be removed.
• Twitter rules do not specifically mention self harm or eating disorders, but if someone thinks the rules are being broken, they can report it through support pages.
• YouTube says it prohibits videos that actively encourage dangerous acts but also tries to strike the right balance between enabling people to talk honestly about the issues they have faced. If a user flags inappropriate content it may be removed.

Alsana supports any organization that takes a stand against blogs or websites that are pro-eating disorder, suicide or self-injury. We encourage all of those that are out there blogging and sharing their struggles, stories, and lives to continue. Their is a line between sharing your story and getting support from social networking sites and being pro-eating disorder and providing tips or encouraging others to engage in these behaviors. Hopefully this will be the trend for other social networking sites and hosting organizations.