Various researches have attempted to study the influence of technology on health information seeking behavior (Basoglu, Daim, Atesok & Pamuk, 2010; Jensen, King, Davis & Guntzviller, 2010; Weaver et al, 2010). Often individuals with health issues search for their symptoms and treatment options online before deciding to visit a doctor. There are also cases wherein individuals who are not suffering from any health problem still use the internet to look for health related information. Cline & Haynes (2001) elucidate diverse purposes of using the internet to access health related information. They claim that the internet is useful as it provides health web pages, online support groups, and online interaction with health professionals. They also …show more content…
Perceived credibility of the internet varied because expertise and trustworthiness were sometimes difficult to determine, and empathy could be facilitated through online communities but the individual could control disclosure. Farmer (2014) studied the issues in teen technology use to find health information. The results of her study indicated that teen health information interests vary by age, gender, social situation, and motivation. Moreover, her paper refers other studies that have found that the most popular topics deal with sexual health or drugs and teens tend to seek information out of need or fear, such as having a personal problem, rather than as a proactive effort to be healthy, such as eating nutritionally. Atkinson, Saperstein & Pleis (2009) found that those seeking health information were more likely to be women, have cable or satellite Internet connections or DSL connections, have Internet access from work or from home and work, and report more hours of weekday Internet use. Educated individuals were less likely to search for health information. Older individuals and married individuals were more likely to purchase medicine or vitamins …show more content…
Moreover, studies report that Internet health information seekers are more likely to have health concerns; adult seekers are more likely to rate themselves as having poor health status and adolescent seekers are more likely to demonstrate clinical impairment or depressive symptomatology compared to non-seekers (Ybarra & Suman, 2006). Also, young people are willing to use the Internet for mental health information and it represents a viable source of support for this age group (Horgan & Sweeney, 2010). A study by Powell & Clarke (2006) revealed that eighteen per cent of all internet users (in their study) had used the internet for information related to mental health. The prevalence was higher among those with a past history of mental health problems and those with current psychological distress. Only 12% of respondents selected the internet as one of the three most accurate sources of information, compared with 24% who responded that it was one of the three sources they would use. Burns et al (2010) explored the role of the internet as a setting for mental health service utilisation by young people. Results revealed that young people reported using the internet to connect with other young people and to seek information about a mental health problem, regardless of whether they had a problem themselves. Twenty
Evidence by Subrahmanyam, Kraut, Greenfield, and Gross (2000) states “In this study, those who were lonely or depressed were not more drawn to the Internet. Rather, the HomeNet results suggest that using the Internet in itself caused the declines in social well-being” (p. 135). The conclusion of the studies provides supporting evidence that the internet will cause depression and loneliness, since depressed individuals were not already drawn to the internet. The isolation that comes with internet usage can too add to the less likelihood of face-to-face interaction. The more one is isolated the less contact of friends and family. Adolescents have to be mindful of their usage of the internet and the effects. Social face-to-face interaction skills are a key skill to have in the ‘real-world’ versus a fix virtual
This site was chosen for its popularity and the wealth and breadth of information that are available to anyone with internet access. Tens of millions of people access this website monthly to gain insight and information into their health concerns. WebMD is a resource intended for a wide scope of readers: physicians, nurses, and consumers. The vast majority of users that access WebMD are Caucasian females between the ages of 18-50+ who are college graduates. Literature found on WebMD are: health information, symptom checklist, suggestions for treatment, information on medication, different links to additional information, and a place to store you information for future reference if one desires. All internet users must approach searching for health information through a systematic analytical review process. The evaluation process for a health information Web site should use the same basic principles for evaluation of general Web sites, but since health information can involve ...
inclined to visit the doctor less, have fewer hospital stays, and purchase smaller amounts of
Moral panics surrounding the health, wellbeing, and behavior of teenagers have flared up consistently over the past decade, from getting drunk off vodka tampons to getting ‘high’ off MP3s downloaded on the Internet, or i-dosing. The popularity of the Internet among youth has inflamed moral panics, in which parents shift the blame onto a media form due to their fears about a new technology or a cultural phenomenon that they cannot control, and which they perceive as negatively impacting society. In his article The Cultural Power of an Anti-Television Metaphor, Jason Mittell discusses how framing a perceived societal ill as similar to a drug makes people believe it is a public health threat. The scientifically baseless moral panic of i-dosing illustrates the fears of parents, community authority figures, and the media that the Internet
(summary) In the article “Has the Smartphone Destroyed a Generation?”, Jean M. Twenge discusses the effects smartphones have in younger generations. Twenge is a psychologist who has been researching differences in generations for 25 years. In accordance to Twenge, smartphones have significantly increased the rates in teen depression and suicide. Twenge describes the generation iGen (born between 1995 and 2012) as being at the verge of the worst mental-health crisis in decades. Twenge’s research shows statistics of many factors that are affected by social media, smartphones, and the internet.
Twenge suggests that the rates for dating have dropped immensely because people would rather stay at home on their phones rather than go out and meet new people. She notes that it statistically takes a long time for people in the iGen generation to leave their parent’s household. Doctor Twenge argues that the maturity of our generation has lowered for “18-year-olds now act more like 15-year-olds used to, and 15-year-olds more like 13-year-olds”(page 63). She also implies that people who spend immense time on social media are more likely to have mental illnesses. Twenge’s research emphasises that “Teens who visit social-networking sites every day but see their friends in person less frequently are the most likely to agree with the statements ‘A lot of times I feel lonely,’ ‘I often feel left out of things,’ and ‘I often wish I had more good friends.’
Beato stresses out the idea that “American psychiatric Association (APA) should add internet addiction to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)” by bringing up its consequences, he is extremely right. In its first conception, internet addiction disorder may appear as a negligible issue in our society since some of its effects are the promotion of the stupidity and the increase of the unconsciousness. An example of how ignorant and insensate we have become, Greg writes an anecdote about “the 18-year-old who choose homelessness over gamelessness” (para. 7). However, when in paragraph 8 he presents the tragic brief history of the young man who killed his mother and injured his father because they wanted to take his Xbox one, this leads us to question ourselves on how the internet can seriously affect our behavior like drugs. In addition, internet addiction has a negative impact on our mind. In other words, it may conduct to a depression. In his article Beato backs up this evidence with an example of students who qualify themselves “jittery”, “anxious”, “miserable”, and “crazy” (para.3) when they were deprived of their connections to the Internet. Finally, many young people have prefer their virtual life at the expense of their social life. They do not know what it means to communicate with other methods like a letter or a face to face communication. Greg support this idea by using a statistic graph. According to that graph, “more than 1
This site is very credible as it is a news organization and written by someone with a lengthy resume, but there are more well-known sources that could be used. This article discusses how the claims that the internet is ruining teen relationship’s are greatly exaggerated. These claims are based on “anecdotal evidence”, meaning just circumstantial stories, and not actual data. In fact, real data shows the trend to be contrary; teens are having sex later and teen pregnancy rates are dropping. This is due to an influx of information and social media’s focus on women empowerment and sticking to one’s morals. This information would be used to provide a counterpoint to the negative light shed on social media’s effect on feminism in other articles.
In Austin McCann's Impact of Social Media on Teens articles he raises that "social networking is turning out to be more than a piece of their reality, its turning into their reality." Teens grumble about always being pushed with homework, however perhaps homework isn't the fundamental wellspring of the anxiety. Ordinary Health magazine expresses that, on insights, a young person who invests more energy open air is for the most part a more content and healthier child. Be that as it may, since 2000, the time adolescents spend outside has diminished altogether bringing on more despondency and heftiness. Not just does it influence wellbeing, social networking denies folks from having an intensive discussion with their youngsters without them checking their telephone. Despite the fact that the constructive outcome of having an online networking profile is to correspond with companions/family, they don't even have the respectability to lift their head and take part in a discussion. Appreciating the easily overlooked details around them turns into a troublesome errand to the normal adolescent when they're excessively caught up with tweeting about it. The repudiating impacts of it goes to demonstrate that social networking is not all it is talked up to
How the social networking influents young people’s psychological well-being? Since the World Wide Web appeared in the world in the year of 1991, the internet has significantly changed people’s life on almost every level. Especially when the social media sites, such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, became popular during the last decade, people’s lifestyles have greatly changed by this form of communication, which consequently brings many psychological effects on the young people. As the result, according to the recent researches, the teenagers and the young adults in this era are bearing many mental health problems, such as depression, anxiety, and addiction, due to the social
The issue of the Internet having psychological benefits has two sides, as does any issue. James E. Katz and Philip Aspden present the yes side of this issue. Katz and Aspden used a national random telephone survey to back up their side on the issue. The survey conducted in October of 1995 compiled the individuals who took the survey into five specific groups. The groups consisted of those not aware of the Internet, non-users aware of the Internet, former users, recent users-those who started using the Internet in 1995, and longtime users-those who started using the Internet prior to 1995. The survey questioned community involvement (community, leisure, and religious,) involvement in existing communities (face to face, family, Internet,) and friendship formation (Internet and beyond.) They drew the conclusion that the Internet is helping to form new friendships and social relationships. Therefore, giving people the chance to join new groups and organizations other than those in their own community.
This world has become immersed in online media from socializing on networking sites to seeking information on search engines. People of all ages have become reliant on online media, but the most engaged users are the younger, more easily impacted generations. Although there are many positive uses for online media, there are many negative uses as well. Unfortunately, it is all too easy for these negative effects to impede upon the perceptions of adolescents. Some countries have been trying to reduce this effect by expelling the inappropriate content of online media ("Influence on Children Media...”). However, in the United States, children are thrown in the waves, expected to stay afloat in this massive sea, but many are being dragged under the surface by the nefarious temptations media creates. Content that is not appropriate for the young, growing minds of children are easily accessible; a myriad of devices may be used to access this material, all at the click of a button. Without adult content filters on online media, adolescents of various ages are exposed to dangerous conceptions. A world of pornography, violence, and public humiliation lay in the user’s fingertips.
With technology becoming easier and easier to use and in part due to the high sexual emphasis in the American culture, men and women are being exposed to pornography earlier and earlier, with the average age being about 12 for men and 13 for women (Gilkerson). These children easily keep their internet wanderings secret from their less technologically savvy parents, as about 62% of teens say their parents know little or nothing about the websites they visit (San Diego Court).
Now that we are living in an ever changing world, technology is viewed as the most resourceful tool in keeping up with the pace. Without the use of technology, communication would be limited to using mail for delivery and encyclopedias for research. Although technology has improved the way we communicate and find information for research, the information is not always valid. Unfortunately, for those of us who use the internet for shopping, research, or reading articles of personal interest the information is not treated the same as a your magazine or book. While such literature is reviewed by an editorial staff, internet literature or information can be published by anyone. In order to reap the full benefit of having the use of technology for any purpose, there are five basic criteria’s one must keep in mind as an evaluating tool for deciding whether or not the particular website is a reliable source for information.
Johnson, William D. "Internet and Modern Society." Dept. of Medicine. 24 Jan. 2006. University of Wyoming. 2 June 2008 .