Keywords
information literacy
media education
sociology of the Internet
pro-ana
anorexia nervosa
How to Cite
Abstract
Scientific reflections on information literacy have emphasized that young people must develop information competences related to using the Internet. Among various approaches, in the generic approach, catalogues of competences are constructed and treated as lists of desired behaviours and skills. The article aims to criticize this approach and its characteristic fetishization of theoretical categories; because of fetishization, these catalogues of competences fail to reflect social reality. The article presents the practices of female bloggers of the pro-ana movement: young girls who consider anorexia not a disease but a lifestyle. Using the method of content analysis, the author analysed 561 blog entries on 15 blogs and compared the collected data with a model catalogue of competencies created based on the literature. Perceived from the perspective of the generic approach, female pro-ana bloggers may be considered informationliterate. This implies that this approach is deficient as the pro-ana movement negatively impacts both healthy and ill girls. The analysis indicates that proponents of the generic standpoint should distinguish the so called competent negative uses.
References
AASL, Standards for the 21st-Century Learner, 2007, http://www.ala.org/aasl/standards-guidelines/learning-standards (accessed on: 12.03.2016).
AASL, AECT, Information Literacy Standards for Student Learning: Standards and Indicators, 1998, http://www.ilipg.org/sites/ilipg.org/files/bo/InformationLiteracyStandards_final.pdf (accessed on: 12.03.2016).
Abbate D., Gramaglia C., Pierò A., Fassino S., Eating disorders and the internet: cure and curse, “Eating and Weight Disorders – Studies on Anorexia, Bulimia and Obesity”, 2006, No. 11 (2), pp. 68-71.
ANZIIL, Australian and New Zealand Information Literacy Framework: principles, standards and practice, 2004, http://www.caul.edu.au/caul-programs/information-literacy/publications (accessed on: 12.03.2016).
Bardone-Cona A., Cass K.M., Investigating the impact of pro-anorexia websites: a pilot study, “European Eating Disorders Review,” 2006, No. 14 (4), pp. 256-262.
Barczak M., Krótka charakterystyka dzienników internetowych dziewcząt z anoreksją (Internet diaries by girls with anorexia: A brief description), [in:] Opętanie (nie)jedzeniem [(Non)-eating Obsession], B. Ziółkowska (red.), Warszawa 2009, Scholar, pp. 155-158.
Berry D.M., Internet research: privacy, ethics and alienation: an open source approach, “Internet Research,” 2004, No. 4 (14), pp. 323-332.
Blasius J., Brandt M., Representativeness in Online Surveys through Stratified Samples, “Bulletin de Méthodologie Sociologique”, 2010, No. 107, pp. 5-21.
Brotsky S.R., Giles D., Inside the “Pro-ana” Community: A Covert Online Participant Observation, “Eating Disorders: The Journal of Treatment & Prevention,” 2007, No. 15 (2), pp. 93-109.
Brown J.S., Duguid P., Knowledge and organization: A social practice perspective, “Organization Science”, 2001, No. 12 (2), pp. 198-213.
Csipke E., Horne O., Pro-eating disorder websites: Users’ opinions, “European Eating Disorders Review,” 2007, No. (3), pp. 196-206.
Custers K., Van den Bulck J., Viewership of pro-anorexia websites in seventh, ninth and eleventh graders, “European Eating Disorders Review,” 2009, No. 17 (3), pp. 214-219.
Dias K., The Ana Sanctuary: Women’s Pro-Anorexia Narratives in Cyberspace, “Journal of International Women’s Studies,” 2013, No. 4 (2), pp. 31-45.
Dyke S., Utilising a blended ethnographic approach to explore the online and offline lives of pro-ana community members, “Ethnography and Education,” 2013, No. 8(2), pp. 146-161.
Edwards S., Bruce C., The assignment that triggered change: Assessment and the relational model for generic capabilities, “Assessment and Evaluation in Higher Education,” 2004, No. 29 (2), pp. 141-157.
Eisenberg M., Berkowitz R., “Information problem-solving: The Big Six approach to library & information skills instruction,” Ablex, Norwood 1990.
Endres B., A critical read on critical literacy: From critique to dialogue as an ideal for literacy education, “Educational Theory”, 2001, No. 51(4), pp. 401-413.
Ferreday D., Unspeakable Bodies. Erasure, Embodiment and the Pro-Ana Community, “International Journal of Cultural Studies,” 2003, No. 6 (3), pp. 277-295.
Filiciak M., “Media. Wersja Beta,” Wydawnictwo Naukowe Katedra, Gdańsk 2013.
Fleming-May R., Miller L.E., “I’m scared to look. But I’m dying to know”: Information seeking and sharing on Pro-Ana weblogs, “Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology,” 2010, No. 47 (1), pp. 1-9.
Fox N.J., Ward K.J., O’Rourke A.J., ‘Expert Patients’, Pharmaceuticals and the Medical Model of Disease: The Case of Weight Loss Drugs and the Internet, “Social Science and Medicine,” 2005, No. 60 (6), pp. 1299-1309.
Fox N.J., Ward K.J., O’Rourke A.J., Pro-Anorexia, Weight Loss Drugs and the Internet: An AntiRecovery Explanatory Model of Anorexia, “Sociology of Health and Illness”, 2005, No. 27 (7), pp. 944-971.
Fricker R.D., Schonlau M., Advantages and Disadvantages of Internet Research Surveys: Evidence from the Literature, “Field Methods,” 2002, No. 14 (4), pp. 347-367.
Giedrojć A., Forum internetowe „Anoreksja”. Reklama, wołanie o pomoc czy Poradnictwo “Anorexia” Internet Forum. Advertising, call for help or counselling, [in:] Edukacja, wychowanie, poradnictwo w kulturze popularnej (Education, Upbringing, Guidance in Popular Culture), M. Kondracka, A. Łysak (eds), Wrocław 2009, Biblioteka Uniwersytecka we Wrocławiu, pp. 97-104.
Giles D., Constructing identities in cyberspace: The case of eating disorders, “British Journal of Social Psychology,” 2006, No. 45, pp. 463-477.
Harper K., Sperry S., Thompson K.J., Viewership of pro-eating disorder websites: Association with body image and eating disorder disturbances, “International Journal of Eating Disorders,” 2008, 41(1), pp. 92-95.
Harris P., Communities as necessity in information literacy development: Challenging the standards, “Journal of Academic Librarianship,” 2008, No. 34, pp. 248-255.
IFLA, Beacons of the Information Society: The Alexandria Proclamation on Information Literacy and Lifelong Learning, 2005, http://www.ifla.org/publications/beacons-of-the-information-society-the-alexandria-proclamation-on-information-literacy (accessed on: 12.03.2016).
IFLA, The Moscow Declaration on Media and Information Literacy, 2012, http://www.ifla.org/publications/moscow-declaration-on-media-and-information-literacy (accessed on: 12.03.2016).
Jablow M.M., “Anoreksja, bulimia, otyłość. Przewodnik dla rodziców” (“Anorexia, bulimia, obesity. Guide for parents”), Gdańskie Wydawnictwo Pedagogiczne, Gdańsk 2000.
Jett S., LaPorte D.J., Wanchisn J., Impact of exposure to pro-eating disorder websites on eating behaviour in college women, “European Eating Disorders Review,” 2010, No. 18 (5), pp. 410-416.
Józefik B., Epidemiologia zaburzeń odżywiania (Epidemiology of eating disorders), [in:] Anoreksja i bulimia psychiczna. Rozumienie i leczenie zabużeń odżywiania (Anorexia and Mental Bulimia. Understanding and Treating Eating Disorders), B. Józefik (ed.), Kraków 1999, Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego, pp. 22-29.
Klichowski M., Pro-ana – internetowa sekta nastolatek (Pro-ana teenagers’ online sect for), [in:] Świat Digital Natives. Młodzież w poszukiwaniu siebie i innych (Digital Natives World. Young People in Search of Themselves and Others), H. Krauze-Sikroska, M. Klichowski (eds), Poznań 2013, Wydawnictwo Naukowe UAM, pp. 157-172.
King S.A., Researching Internet Communities: Proposed Ethical Guidelines for the Reporting of Results, “The Information Society,” 1996, No. 12, pp. 119-127.
Kozinets R.V., “Netnography: Doing Ethnographic Research Online,” SAGE Publications, London-Thousand Oaks-New Delhi 2010.
Krantz J.H., Dalal R., Validity of Web-Based Psychological Research, [in:] Psychological Experiments on the Internet, M.H. Birnbaum (ed.), New York 2000, Academic Press, pp. 35-60.
Lipponen L., Information literacy as situated and distributed activity, [in:] Practising Information Literacy: Bringing Theories of Learning, Practice and Information Literacy Together, A. Lloyd, S. Talja (eds), Wagga Wagga 2010, Centre for Information Studies, pp. 51-64.
Livingstone S., Children’s use of the internet: Reflections on the emerging research Agenda, “New Media & Society,” 2003, No. 5(2), pp. 147-166.
Livingstone S., “Children and the Internet,” Polity Press, Cambridge-Malden 2009.
Lloyd A., Lessons from the workplace: Understanding information literacy as practice, [in:] Practising Information Literacy: Bringing Theories of Learning, Practice and Information Literacy Together, A. Lloyd, S. Talja (eds), Wagga Wagga 2010, Centre for Information Studies, pp. 29-50.
Lupton M., “The learning connection: Information literacy and the student experience,” Auslib Press, Adelaide 2004.
Lupton M., Bruce C., Windows on information literacy worlds: Generic, situated and transformative perspectives, [in:] Practising Information Literacy: Bringing Theories of Learning, Practice and Information Literacy Together, A. Lloyd, S. Talja (eds), Wagga Wagga 2010, Centre for Information Studies, pp. 3-28.
Maksymiuk R., Jasielska A., Rola mass mediów i reklamy w powstawaniu anoreksji i bulimii w okresie adolescencji (The role of mass media and advertising in the formation of anorexia and bulimia during adolescence), [in:] Wybrane zagadnienia z psychologii klinicznej i osobowości. Psychologia kliniczna nastolatka (Selected Issues from Clinical Psychology and Personality. Clinical Psychology of Adolescents), L. Szewczyk i E. Talik (eds.), Lublin 2009, TN KUL, pp. 183-208.
Orliński W., “Internet. Czas się bać” (“Internet. Time to be afraid”), Agora S.A., Warszawa 2013.
Peden B.F., Flashinski D.P., Virtual Research Ethics: A Content Analysis of Surveys and Experiments Online, [in:] Readings in Virtual Research Ethics. Issues and Controversies, E.A. Buchanan (ed.), Hershey-London-Melbourne-Singapore 2004, INFOSCI, pp. 1-26.
Purdue J., Stories, not information: Transforming information literacy, “Portal: Libraries and the Academy,” 2003, No. 3(4), pp. 653-662.
Reips U.D., Standards for Internet-Based Experimenting, “Experimental Psychology,” 2002, No. 49 (4), pp. 243-256.
Rettberg J.W., “Blogging,” Polity Press, Cambridge-Malden 2013.
Rodgers R.F., Skowron S., Chabrol H., Disordered Eating and Group Membership Among Members of a Pro-anorexic Online Community, “European Eating Disorders Review,” 2012, No. 20 (1), pp. 9-12.
Rozkosz E.A., Siuda P., Stunża G.D., Dąbrowska A.J., Klimowicz M., Kulczycki E., Muszyński D., Piotrowska R., Sieńko M., Stachura, K., Information and Media Literacy of Polish Children According to the Results of “Children of the Net” and “Children of the Net 2.0” Studies, [in:] Information Literacy: Lifelong Learning and Digital Citizenship in the 21st Century, S. Kurbanoğlu, S. Špiranec, D. Mizrachi, R. Catts (eds), Cham 2014, Springer, pp. 263-273.
Siuda P. Społeczności wirtualne. O wspólnotowości w społeczeństwie sieciowym (Virtual Communities. On Community in a Network Society), [in:] Oblicza Internetu, Internet w przestrzeni komunikacyjnej XXI wieku (Faces of the Internet. Internet in the Communication Space of the 21st Century), M. Sokołowski (ed.), Elbląg 2006, Wydawnictwo PWSZ, pp. 179-186.
Siuda P., Stunża G.D. (red.), “Dzieci Sieci – kompetencje komunikacyjne najmłodszych: Raport z badań” (“Children of the Network - Communication Competences of the Youngest Children: Research Report”), Instytut Kultury Miejskiej, Gdańsk 2012.
Siuda P., Stunża G.D., Dąbrowska A.J., Klimowicz M., Kulczycki E., Piotrowska R., Rozkosz E., Sieńko M., Stachura K. “Dzieci Sieci 2.0. Kompetencje komunikacyjne młodych” (“Children of the Network 2.0 Communication Skills of Young People”), Instytut Kultury Miejskiej, Gdańsk 2013.
Startek I., Motyle w sieci. Krótka charakterystyka ruchu pro-Ana (Butterflies in the net. A brief characteristics of pro-anna movement), “Curr Probl Psychitry,” 2011, No. 12 (3), pp. 322-329.
Starzomska M., Egosyntoniczność jako patognomiczny objaw anoreksji (Egosyntonics as a pathognomic manifestation of anorexia), “Psychoterapia,” 2008, No. 3 (146), pp. 61-74.
Stochel M., Janas-Kozik M., Przyjaciółki wirtualnej Any – zjawisko proanoreksji w sieci internetowej (Friends of virtual Ana: The phenomenon of pro-anorexia on the Internet), “Psychiatria Polska”, 2010, nr 44 (5), s. 693-702.
Talja S., Lloyd A., Integrating theories of learning, literacies and information practices, [in:] Practising Information Literacy: Bringing Theories of Learning, Practice and Information Literacy Together, A. Lloyd, S. Talja (eds), Wagga Wagga 2010, Centre for Information Studies, pp. VIII-XX.
Tuominen K., Savolainen R., Talja S., Information literacy as sociotechnical practice, “Library Quarterly,” 2005, No. 75, pp. 329-345.
Yeshua-Katz D., Martins N., Communicating Stigma: The Pro-Ana Paradox, “Health Communication,” 2013, No. 28 (5), pp. 499-508.
Ward K.J., ‘I Love You to the Bones’: Constructing the Anorexic Body in ‘Pro-Ana’ Message Boards, “Sociological Research Online,” 2007, No. 12 (2), http://www.socresonline.org.uk/12/2/ward.htm (accessed on: 12.03.2016).
Wenger E., “Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity (Learning in Doing: Social, Cognitive and Computational Perspectives),” Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 2000.
Wilson J.L., Peebles R. Hardy K.K., Litt I.F., Surfing for Thinness: A Pilot Study of Pro–Eating Disorder Web Site Usage in Adolescents With Eating Disorders, “Pediatrics,” 2006, No. 118(6), pp. 1635-1643.
License
Copyright (c) 2017 Piotr Siuda
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.