Health in the digital age can be a minefield. I think it is fairly safe to say that everyone has at some point Googled symptoms they were experiencing, when they knew something wasn’t quite right. Putting off going to your GP is very normalised in today’s society, we’re too busy, we can’t afford to take a day off work, we can’t get a suitable appointment time or maybe we’re just too embarrassed. Finding a good doctor, you’re comfortable talking too can be difficult, but putting off seeing one can be downright deadly.
Health information is known to be a key motivator for internet searches, it is the third most popular use of the internet, with roughly 83% of internet users seeking health information online (McCosker, 2016).
When we head to Google and it sends us off to WebMD or similar, it feels a bit like you either get ‘it’s nothing to worry about’ or ‘CANCER!’. As one of the most popular sources of medical information online, WebMD people have come to trust it as a reliable source of information, but is it? When several doctors were asked about the reliability of WebMD the general consensus was that, whilst the information provided to users was not entirely incorrect, without further context the information also could be entirely irrelevant for the user (Belluz 2016). In other words, no matter what, you still need to see your doctor.
The digital age of medicine and its intermingling with social media means that our health and wellbeing have also moved beyond just online self-diagnosis and now we’re witnessing strangers diagnosing one another.
In one of countless stories of people being diagnosed from pictures and videos by total strangers Florida NBC TV news reporter Victoria Price was sent a private message via social media by a viewer urging her to have a lump on her neck examined. The lump turned out to be a rare form of cancer, which Price wouldn’t have even noticed without the viewer pointing it out and she was extremely grateful to the eagle eye viewer (Shadwell 2020).
"Had I never received that email, I never would have called my doctor. The cancer would have continued to spread. It's a scary and humbling thought.
I will forever be thankful to the woman who went out of her way to email me, a total stranger. She had zero obligation to, but she did anyway. "
Health in the digital age can clearly have its benefits, we can find out for ourselves or from others when to get treated. But, especially now, in the ongoing pandemic there is a dark and scary side to finding your medical facts online.
Rumours about COVID19, microchips and 5G technologies have run rampant online. Even celebrities have helped fuel speculation. Tennis star Novak Djokovic revealed he was opposed to vaccinations and taking it a step further his wife Jelena shared a video promoting 5G conspiracies. One of the most widespread conspiracies is that Bill Gates has masterminded a plan to use vaccines to monitor us all through microchips (Carmichael and Goodman 2020).
Online we’re now constantly surrounded by medical misinformation. So much so that the government has launched an ‘Is it True?’ section on their health website (Department of Health 2021).
The main focus for this latest government public health campaign is to discourage the spread of misinformation and provide people with a reliable source of information, with clear directions to speak to your doctor if you have any further questions. As Luxton states
"Public health is concerned with protecting and improving the health of entire populations, whether those populations are small communities or large nations." (Luxton et.al. 2012)
In their report 'Social Media and Suicide: A Public Health Perspective.'they go on to notes that social media, as it is currently understand, has created virtual communities without physical borders and their report presents evidence showing that social media may pose a risk to vulnerable groups who are part of these virtual communities" (Luxton et.al. 2012). Although they are talking in the context of suicide it is clear that this too can be the case for the pandemic through the spread of missinformation and the consquences which could result from it.
At the end of the day, as beneficial as social media can be, it's never really the place to get your medical information. Always speak with your doctor.
References
Belluz, J. 2016, The truth about WebMD, a hypochondriac's nightmare and Big Pharma's dream, viewed 31 August 2021, <https://www.vox.com/2016/4/5/11358268/webmd-accuracy-trustworthy>.
Department of Health 2021, COVID-19 vaccines – Is it true?, Commonwealth of Australia, viewed 31 August 2021, <https://www.health.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/covid-19-vaccines/is-it-true>.
Luxton, IDD, June, JD & Fairall, JM 2012, ‘Social Media and Suicide: A Public Health Perspective’, American Journal of Public Health, vol. 102, no. S2, pp. S195–S200, viewed 20 September 2021, <https://search-ebscohost-com.ezproxy.lib.swin.edu.au/login.aspx?direct=true&db=heh&AN=74555569&site=ehost-live&scope=site>.
McCosker, A, 2016, 'Tagging Depression – Social Media and the Segmentation of Mental Health', in Messaris, P, Humphreys, L, Digital Media: transformations in human communication, Peter Lang, New York, Ch. 3, pp. 31-39.
Shadwell, T. 2020, TV reporter diagnosed with cancer after eagle-eyed viewer spots lump on her neck, Mirror, viewed 31 August 2021, <https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/news-reporter-diagnosed-cancer-after-22412201>.
WebMD 2021, Homepage, viewed 31 August 2021, <https://www.webmd.com/>.
Victoria Price [image] 2020, on Instagram, Victoria Price, viewed 31 August 2021, <https://www.instagram.com/p/CDAM4AhpuXb/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=773acb08-f13f-469e-8a5e-1a62a6c51aaa>.
Carmichael, F. and Goodman, J. 2020, Coronavirus: 5G and microchip conspiracies around the world, BBC News , viewed 31 August 2021, <https://www.bbc.com/news/53191523>.
Hi, I really liked the case study example you used to explain the positive side of digital health and social media, I see similar interactions via Tiktok and Tiktok 'doctors' using their platform to inform and even reply to personal questions about peoples symptoms etc, although this could be helping people to seek information and see their GP, the spread of misinformation and trusting credible sources is very difficult to distinguish on social platforms. Although it is good to see that the owners of these social platforms are beginning to moderate the spread of misinformation about COVID more and more.
Hi Nerissa I think most of us have Google our symptoms online at some stage, and yes more often than not we misdiagnose ourselves. However, looking up online for our health symptoms is not always bad, because it could steer us in the right direction and force us to visit a doctor. Also, I don’t believe the rumours and hype about the COVID vaccine. At the moment the world is sick, and we all as a community, need to do our part and get vaccinated – it’s the only way to reduce the strength and eradicate the virus.
Thank you, Elizabeth.
Hi Nerissa, I really enjoyed reading your post. Your introduction made it really relatable. I have definitely googled my symptoms before! But I have also followed up with contacting my GP. Price's experience is a great example of the affordances of social media. It is really incredible how it connects us with each other. I agree with you that we should consulting the experts and always fact checking to verify information - especially when it comes to our health. Thank you, Rhiannon