Unfortunately, parents of teens often learn about secretive online behaviors when it’s already too late. In the world of social media, teens can be secretive, which makes it hard for parents to keep up with what’s going on in their lives.
One of the most secretive places where teens hide destructive behaviors is through simple hashtags. In this process, teens hide secret beliefs and values that can be life-threatening.
You see, hashtags are codes for many concerning issues -- from eating disorders to suicide. And teens are smart enough to know that we’ll be looking for them. As a result, a secret terminology is invented that can be indecipherable to the untrained eye. To combat this and protect your teen, you need to know the code. Plain and simple.
Eating Disorders: Know the Codes
One of the main topics about which teens hide secretive behavior is eating disorders. According to the National Association of Anorexia and Associated Disorders (ANAD), three movements have come to light in this respect: Pro-Ana, Pro-Mia, and pro-ED. These terms mean pro-anorexia, pro-bulimia and pro-eating disorders.
According to ANAD, online communities exist that actually encourage these behaviors. Not only do these communities teach teens how to engage in them, but they also can be deceptive in that they may seem harmless at first.
So how does a community go from seemingly harmless to life-threatening?
Through pro-eating disorder communities, a sense of bonding and belonging occurs. Feeling less alienated may lead teens to believe that these behaviors are beneficial instead of revealing the life-threatening truth behind the disorders themselves. Pictures that promote positive beliefs about unhealthy bodies may encourage more unhealthy behavior. Further, the more teens become engaged in these communities, the more they lose touch with reality and may fall into even more eating-disordered behaviors.
Quite frankly, one of the most terrifying of these movements revolves around the “Pro-Ana” concept. That’s because Pro-Ana is extremely popular -- and extremely dangerous. For example, one website, called “Thin Intentions Forever,” chronicles a blogger’s pride in restricting calories to be thin. The blogger even goes as far as to list 58 ways to cut calories -- in alarming ways. One of the scariest of these suggestions says that “friends will only get in the way,” so “avoid them until you reach your goals.” In another section of the website, the blogger suggests that laxatives and caffeine pills are “good to have.” In other words, this blogger is teaching teens how to die by way of anorexia, though the blogger is clearly in denial about the life-threatening nature of this concept.
The problem is that teens find sites like these by way of hashtags. Some of these hashtags are decipherable, like #thighgap, which the McAfee Security Consumer Blog says reflects teens who want to be so thin that their thighs don’t touch. However, this doesn’t make hashtags like these any less scary. If parents aren’t looking for eating disorder-related hashtags, teen behavior could skate under the radar. This means that parents may not be aware of a teen’s eating disorder until it’s already out of control.
Obviously, this isn’t the only hashtag to look for in the way of eating disorders. McAfee says that other examples of hashtags that are reflective of eating disorders can include:#thinspo, #thinspiration, and #ana. All of these hashtags are said to promote eating disorders in general.
Self-Harm: Know the Codes
Self-harm is another destructive behavior for which parents should keep a lookout. These are acts like cutting and burning, which may be a manifestation of severe stress, depression or anxiety. Sites and social media posts glorifying this concept are widely present.
This has led researchers to try to uncover just what terms kids are using to discuss acts of self-harm. According to Reuters, one such study confirmed the belief that technology is helping kids to bond over these behaviors.
“The online communities that develop around these hashtags can draw in adolescents and provide them a strong sense of belonging and support that is centered on these unhealthy behaviors,” says lead study author Dr. Megan Moreno, a specialist in adolescent medicine at the University of Washington and Seattle Children’s Research Institute. “This can make recovery from these behaviors more challenging.”
According to Reuters, researchers initially used the term #selfharmmm to find social media posts on Instagram that revolved around concerning habits like these. Next, the search results related to this hashtag were used to find more hashtags concerning these types of acts. Some of these included: #blithe, #MySecretFamily and #SecretSociety123.
The team learned that the term #cat refers to cutting. In fact, this term was found to have more than 44 million search results in 2014. This number grew to 56 million the next year. The initial term #selfharmmm also grew. Initially, it was found to have 1.7 million results in 2014. However, this number grew to over 2.4 million search results the following year.
#Suicide?
A third area of concern is teen suicide. For example, Vice says that the simple term #Sue can mean suicide. Sites reflecting a belief in suicide can mislead a teen by glorifying the act. This is why parents need to know the specifics to stay ahead of the curve. After all, the act of suicide is irreversible if a teen is successful. Those who plan to commit suicide tend to be secretive in general.
Down to WHAT?!?
Finally, parents should look for hashtags regarding sex. One teen confidentially told us that an important term to look for is #DTF. This means “Down To…” (We can’t say the last word, but you can fill in the blanks). This is a very popular term for teens looking for sex.
Another general term can be #Teen. Though this term can yield mixed results, it is often used in relation to teen sex pictures. So it’s worth checking into if you find that your teen or his or her peers use it.
Yet another term that our teen source warns us about is #Daddy. Our source confirms that this hashtag can be related to sexual acts and pictures. Yes, it can also be related to innocent dads, but it’s still worth investigating.
Another hashtag teens may use #Instaporn, which refers to inappropriate content on the Instagram app. Further, she says that parents should be aware of Kik, which is a messaging system where it’s easy to find strangers and share porn. Finally, be aware of Omegle, which is a site that our teen tells us older men may go to in order try to get teens to strip. The site is one where strangers meet virtually. Users can both talk to and connect with strangers via video.