2024/09/18 by David I. Benbow · 1 voice
Social Sciences · Business, Management and Accounting · #Gender, Feminism, and Media #Crime, Deviance, and Social Control #Consumer Behavior in Brand Consumption and Identification
paper · pdf · doi:10.1080/13600834.2024.2404283
openalex publication_date 2024/09/18 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/02
It has been argued that newspaper responses to pro-eating disorder websites, within the United Kingdom (UK), constitute a moral panic. It is feared that moral panics may spur rash legal/policy responses. My analysis indicates that the consideration of pro-eating disorder websites by British newspaper journalists and others does not constitute a moral panic. I argue that the misuse of the moral panic concept exemplifies the dominance of emotivism within contemporary culture and may trivialise potential online harms and serve as an apologia for surveillance/digital capitalism. I contend that pro-eating disorder websites are potentially harmful and assess legal and policy responses, such as the Online Safety Act 2023 and the advancement of the digital commons. I also contend that the increase in the number of people suffering with eating disorders within the UK should be addressed by devoting more resources for research into, and the prevention and treatment of, eating disorders.