New research suggests an overwhelming 84 percent of teenagers tend to turn to the internet when it comes to health concerns, but most felt uncomfortable sharing these woes on social media.
The findings could help health organizations come up with the best strategies for reaching adolescents, Northwestern University reported.
About a third of 1,156 surveyed American teenagers between the ages of 13 and 18 claimed what they found online caused them to change their behavior, such as cutting back on soda or exercising to fight off depression. One in five teens said they had downloaded mobile health apps.
The top reasons teens had for searching health-related sites were: "school assignments (53 percent), to take better care of themselves (45 percent), check symptoms or diagnose (33 percent) or find info for family or friends (27 percent)." The top topics teens searched for were fitness, dieting and nutrition, stress and anxiety, sexually transmitted diseases, depression, and sleep. Many of these teens turned to medical websites to get their health questions answered, but Youtube, Facebook, and Twitter were also mentioned in the survey.
The researchers noted that despite the significant influence of the Internet, parents were still the primary source of health information for American teens; health classes at school and healthcare providers ranked second and third before the Internet. More than half of lower-income teens had a family member who had encountered a serious health problem within the past year, compared to only 27 percent of higher income teens. Lower income teens were also less likely to have access to health classes in school and online health tools.
"We found some real surprises about what teens are doing online when it comes to their health," said Ellen Wartella, director of Northwestern's Center on Media and Human Development and lead author of the report. "We often hear about all the negative things kids are doing online, but teens are using the Internet to take care of themselves and others around them."
