Facebook, Tumblr and Pinterest have all banned so-called “thinspirational” images–but has it really helped? That’s the question many news outlets, including New York Daily News, Jezebel, and Mashable are asking–and with good reason.
But while the question may be on everybody’s lips, the answers are far from forthcoming. “I think its too soon to tell [if the banning of thinspo images will have a large impact on the pro-ana community],” Lynn S. Grefe, MA, President and CEO of the National Eating Disorders Association, told me over the phone.
While Mashable claims Pinterest has done “little-to-nothing to edit out the pro-anorexia content,” siting the fact that hundreds of images still come up when you search a tag like “thinspo,” it’s worth remembering that Pinterest’s new terms of use only went into effect on April 6, and that successfully policing the images is going to be a slow process. Officially banning the content, regardless of how immediately effective that new policy is, is certainly the first step.
“I really have to applaud [Pinterest and Tumblr] for working with us and for making the effort,” Grefe said. “I think it’s huge that they did it. It needed to be done but a lot more needs to be done.”
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