A recently released Pew Research Center study found that 35 percent of adults use the Internet to specifically look up medical conditions they or someone they know might have.
Student Health Care Center Marketing Coordinator Catherine Seemann said college students are not exempt from this trend. She said the SHCC even mentions it at Preview as a “sort-of joke.”
“We say don’t Google symptoms because it will tell you that you’ll die,” Seemann said.
She said although it’s easy to look up medical issues online, it is easy to find information from non-reputable sources.
The SHCC website has an area for “Health Care Information Online,” which links to pre-approved medical information sites that are updated regularly. Popular go-to sources like WebMD and the Mayo Clinic are included on the list, as well as other government-sponsored sites.
Seemann said the difference between using verified sites and ones just found online is the difference between “the Encyclopaedia Britannica and Wikipedia.”
Shelby Grossman, a 19-year-old telecommunication sophomore, said she uses the Internet with caution. She said her sister used online resources to look up symptoms relating to diabetes. Her sister went to a doctor, who confirmed the disease. Grossman still thinks people should go to a doctor in the end.
“If you’re looking it up, you might as well go to the doctor,” she said.
Coral Sprague, a 20-year-old recreation, parks and tourism junior, said when she thought she had strep throat recently, she went to a Walgreens clinic before she went online.
“Too many people rely on the Internet,” she said. “The Internet isn’t a doctor. It shouldn’t tell you what’s wrong with you.”
