The fact that these sites continue to flourish is appalling. I first handedly experienced the negative effects that pro-anorexia, or “pro-ana”, causes. Last year, I joined one of the largest pro-ana sites on the internet because they claimed to be a place of emotional support, and as a victim of anorexia, I felt alone and misunderstood. I would like to point out that Pro-ana sites do not intentionally encourage people to starve themselves; unfortunately, those who subscribe to these forums are suffering from a mental illness and are in no state of mind to be offering advice to vulnerable strangers. Without knowing it, their “support” for one another actually drives each other deeper into a life of self harm and deadly habits. I witnessed this daily, but I was so consumed by my disease that I didn’t even realize what was happening. For example, a user would write a post about how upset they were with themselves for eating 300 calories in one day, and within several minutes they would r...