“It’s not official unless it’s on Facebook.”

You know the phrase is true. Did you hook up with a new boyfriend lately? Get a new job? Start grad school? Yeah, you probably updated your Facebook to let everyone know about it. Facebook has acquired a terrifically powerful role in our culture, one which legitimizes every facet of our lives.

As much as passing the bar exam officially makes you an attorney, updating your relationship status officially makes you one-half of the new “It” couple in your social network. Bring on the wall-comments and congratulations! But what about when Facebook users begin posting personal details that don’t merit digital high-fives?

Such is the case with a new trend in Facebook groups that actually promote such eating disorders as anorexia nervosa and bulemia nervosa. Think about your average, “Hell Yeah I Went To Public School!” group and channel all of that enthusiasm towards the idea of starving yourself. Imagine scrolling through a list of your friend’s groups and finding one like “Ana Boot Camp” (which has recently been disabled by the Facebook administration) which attracts users who view anorexia as a fitness goal, not an eating disorder. They’ve even co-opted the name “anorexia” to just “Ana,” as a way of reinforcing the idea of anorexia positively. Members of “pro-Ana” groups collaborate on starvation plans and look to one another for “thinspiration.” Read More »