Aug 3, 2020
Warning, themes of a sensitive nature (suicide, self-harm, eating disorders): Social platforms face enormous pressure to improve their policies on suicide, self-harm and eating disorders. But pointing the finger at Facebook might be the most dangerous move of all. In the same week that the UK government sparked outrage among people recovering from an eating disorder, we spoke to one of Facebook’s advisory board members, Dr Ysabel Gerrard, whose job it is to make sure Facebook isn’t also adding to a problem that pre-dates its existence. In this episode she reveals exactly how policies are implemented at Facebook Inc and what matters to the company right now. We also discuss the other social platforms posing an equally problematic risk. Importantly, Ysabel reveals the issue with governments and press using Facebook as a scapegoat for mental health, and how everyone from parents to fashion brands has a role to play. Ysabel specialises in the psychology of eating disorders and tells us that anorexia has the highest mortality rate of any other mental illness. Its online communities are among the most impenetrable and private. And that is presenting researchers and platform moderators with an unprecedented ethical and logistical dilemma: should we be trying to moderate recovery?