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Children are "punished" for eating too much on an anonymous email application, "anorexia coaches" asking hundreds of 13-year-olds to write the words "by hand" I am not hungry "500 times in the course of a lesson.
Kik, an instant chat service popular with children and teens, has been reviewed by security and cybersecurity experts for its detrimental impact on minors struggling with eating disorders and problems with children. Body image.
The application, used by more than 350 million people worldwide, has already been criticized for safety reasons and states that it allows grooming and exploitation of children.
The West Australian has found at least 76 public groups favorable to anorexia and bulimia after joining Kik. As soon as users join a public conversation, group administrators send a list of "rules" to follow if someone wants to stay in that community.
Some groups require that users suffer from a eating disorder for at least six months, weigh daily, fast each week and eat less than 500 calories a day, while others punish users. who do not reach their dietary goals by demanding shameful user images.
"No bread, eating bread means that you are called a breadwinner for 24 hours," said one administrator. "Punishment for binging: write by hand" I do not deserve to eat "300 times, send proof to an administrator."
Another said: "The daily calorie limit is 500 calories, if you go over, you get an averagepo (average inspiration) … If you eat 700 calories in a day, the next day you can only eat 300 calories ".
Between 2017 and 2018, the number of patients aged 14 to 19 admitted to WA hospitals for eating disorders increased by nearly 100, 478 children and adolescents diagnosed with anorexia, bulimia or other eating disorders last year.
Danni Rowlands, national prevention manager at the Butterfly Foundation, said groups discussing food-related punishment and rewards, and encouraging children to follow their weight, pace, and fitness, could lead to unhealthy relationships between food, exercise and triggering eating disorders.
"These groups risk perpetuating the slender ideal and social pressures to look in some way," he said. "This could be considered a form of online bullying, where individuals and communities are driven by fear and engage in potentially dangerous behaviors without being warned of risk factors.
"Eating disorders are complex neuropsychological diseases. Comparisons and competitiveness are the hallmarks of the disease. Any active promotion or encouragement to adopt related behaviors can be very detrimental and fuel comparisons, instead of encouraging the search for help. "
The most alarming names of some of the pro groups of anorexia discovered by The West Australian include #anorexicforlife, #skinnygirlssell, #starveandstrict and #thinningsouls.
Dr. Marylin Bromberg, an expert in social media and body image, said Kik's biggest concern was "the anonymity of it all". "Some websites have been encouraging this kind of behavior for years, but Kik's problem is that it's anonymous, so it's harder to hold these" coaches "to account."
UWA's keynote speaker said that Kik allowed people not afraid of being caught "to take in impressionable girls and boys … and literally teach them to become anorexic." or bulimic ".
"It's spreading very fast," she said.
Paul Litherland, owner of an Internet awareness company and a former police officer, said that the increase in the number of offenders using Kik to exchange and maintain young users has made the application "one of the highest risks in the world." network".
"Because you do not need a phone number to sign up for Kik, it is extremely difficult to locate them (offenders) for law enforcement purposes," said the father.
Mr Litherland said that many young users were using their real name on the app and that he regularly contacted his parents after a predator approached their child.
"We had a 14-year-old girl from Perth who was talked to for weeks with the story of a 15-year-old boy in Melbourne. At first it was a standard conversation, then it became rough and sexual. He finally asked for nudes and she sent one, "he said.
Perth's parent, Hayley Shirwood, is one of the lucky ones. His 13-year-old daughter had been using Kik for about six months when the mother discovered that her child was receiving nude photos of strangers.
"It literally shocked me … I told him you had to delete it," Shirwood said. "The amount of messages asking for photos or saying that they would be exchanging pictures of themselves masturbating against pictures of her was awful."
Ms. Shirwood's daughter sent two messages prompting users to stop sending "these messages, I do not like them," but the disgusting messages continued.
The key message intended for parents and children using Kik or similar platforms is to never send a photo of yourself and never meet someone else from the real life you have met on the Internet.
Dr. David Glance, a software expert at UWA, said the only real solution was to put in place regulations to compel companies such as "Kik and Facebook to account for the damage that's occurring." they speak".
"If they had to go to court every time a criminal used their platforms as co-defendants, it would soon make them react to the problems they created," he said. .
"Although Kik is specifically criticized because of the lack of a phone number – it's good to remember that Facebook does not do it either – and it's very easy to sign up. with a fake temporary email address. "
A spokesman for Kik said the company takes online security very seriously and is constantly assessing and improving "our trust and our security measures."
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