Therapy, Internet, and Choice

Recently, I saw someone post unapologetic close-up pictures of spiders, without warning that spider pictures were forthcoming. When they were asked to tag their pictures "spider" so that people with phobias could avoid looking at them, they refused on the grounds of "exposure therapy". Basically, they said that because one can overcome one's phobia by undergoing exposure to the feared object, it would "help people overcome their fears" to suddenly confront pictures of spiders, and promote Happy Spider Love And Acceptance across the web (no pun intended).

I'd like to talk a little bit about the effectiveness of this tactic. Or rather, its ineffectiveness-- because it actually does the opposite. ( Therapy, Internet, and Choice )