Rusty Benson
AFA Journal associate editor
January 2009 – Embrace it, reject it, ignore it, but there is no denying that technology is reshaping nearly every human endeavor. Communication, business, information gathering and distribution, education and entertainment. Even the age-old ritual of finding a mate has not escaped the überimpact of technology – one of every eight couples married in 2005 met online.
But as history often demonstrates, the same waves that bring profound progress can also wash ashore some rancid rubbish. So it is with the Internet.
A recent study by Optenet, a leading global technology security company, documents an increase in harmful content. Much of it is self-generated and appears on personal Web pages, a content category that increased by almost 500% from 2006-2007.
Among the study’s disturbing findings is a huge increase since the end of 2006 in the number of Web sites that promote anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa as desirable lifestyles. Both are eating disorders found 90% of the time in adolescent females. These psychiatric disorders often require hospitalization and can even lead to death. In gross numbers, there were 278 such Web sites in 2006 compared to 1,583 in 2007 – a 469% increase.
Sites such as www.fading-obsession.com refer to their content as “pro-ana” and/or “pro-mia.” They include tips on how to hide your eating disorder from others; super-low calorie recipes and diets; reasons to obsess about your diet; photos and height/weight data (collectively called “thinspiration”) of super-thin models and celebrities; a “religion” section containing 10 Ana Commandments, an Ana Creed, an Ana Psalm; and a forum where participants can find mutual support for their eating disorders.
In addition to personal Web sites, Bob Martin, director of Internet marketing for Bsafe Online (www.bsafeonline.com), points to another alarming trend among adolescents and teens: bullying. He said this takes the form of posting demeaning content, pictures and video on personal Web sites. “Ultimately, the byproduct of this behavior leads to hurt feelings, fights, psychological trauma and in some cases, murder and suicide,” he said. Martin describes Bsafe as “a family Internet filter company in the faith-based marketplace.”
However, the most dangerous gateway into children’s lives, Martin says, is instant messaging (IM), a form of live text-based communication via the Internet. Martin sees IM as replacing chat rooms as the most popular format for person-to-person, real-time blather.
So concerned parents must be vigilant and know what their children are doing on the Internet, warns Ana Rotta, European projects director for Optenet. “Make the Internet a family experience,” she advises. “Know what sites your children are visiting, who their online friends are and if they belong to a social networking system like MySpace or Facebook.” In addition, she strongly recommends software that blocks harmful content and allows parents to control what their families view.
Martin said the Bsafe Family Filter not only blocks objectionable content, but it also monitors online activity and instant messaging sessions and creates secure weekly reports for parents to view.
The Optenet report also reveals other negative trends in Internet content such as an increase in sites that promote violence, up 126%; racism, up 71%; illegal drug use, up 62%; and child pornography, up 18.5%.
Although total Web content dealing with pornography showed a slight decrease during 2007, porn continues to dominate the Internet, encompassing over one third of all content. 
