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Science Are you an Internet hypochondriac?
Science Are you an Internet hypochondriac? | Are you an Internet hypochondriac? |
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| by William Atkins | |
| Sunday, 30 November 2008 | |
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Page 2 of 3 They found that of the Web users that searched health-related websites, which were about 2% of the users (about 5,000), about one out of three of them exaggerated their symptoms after doing Internet searches. Featured Whitepaper
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Science DiscussionsThey reported their conclusions in the Monday, November 24, 2008 Microsoft report “Cyberchondria: Studies of the Escalation of Medical Concerns in Web Search.” According to the InternetNews.com article “Are You Searching Yourself Sick?”, these researchers “warn surfers not to think the worse when investigating ailments.” White and Horvitz wrote in their Microsoft report: “We use the term 'cyberchondria' to refer to the unfounded escalation of concerns about common symptoms based on the review of search results. The Web has the potential to increase the anxieties of people who have little or no medical training, especially when Web search is employed as a diagnostic procedure." The two researchers said in their report that, based on their research, Internet users often see such words as “headache” and “heartburn” but turn these usually minor symptoms into more serious ones such as “brain tumor” and “heart attack,” respectively. Horvitz stated, “People tend to look at just the first couple results. If they find ‘brain tumor’ or ‘A.L.S.’ [amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease)], that’s their launching point.” [The New York Times] What else did the Microsoft researchers state in their report? Please read page three for these details. |
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