DIY: Health & Wellbeing

Cyberchondria

Pronunciation: si′bĕr-kon′drē-ă 

Definitions:
1. The false belief that one is suffering from a disease that was learned about on the Internet or on a specific Website.

MediLexicon, 2006.

Nielsen & Barratt (2009) discussed in their research that teenagers and young adults are increasingly turning to the internet as a primary source of general information. They continue to argue that the information available on the internet is easier to source and understand as the resource can be easily disseminated (Nielsen & Barratt, 2009). Hence it isn’t a surprise to learn, that society is more willing to turn to their keyboards and monitors for a health query than travelling to their nearest general practitioner. A concern that does arrive from such a growing phenomenon is the vast amount of prescription drugs available from online pharmacies and its easy access (Nielsen & Barratt, 2009). Without proper medical consultation or misinformation from these websites, such medication could prove harmful.

Lewis (2006) expands on this shift, where health as an issue is moving from being the shared responsibility of society and government to a more individual level. Though most of us can agree the internet is a great source of information, and perhaps an easier first point of call, one could ask if we are using new media as constructively as we could (Lewis, 2009).

Take my family for example, ours is one that isn’t completely fond of the general practitioners. My cousins and I grew up on my grandmother’s secret blend of herbs and leaves as a cure for almost everything. As such, our family have grown accustomed to more holistic approaches to medicine. Though my mother has not officially been diagnosed with cyberchondria, she definitely sees the internet as a first point of reference for a more natural approach to an illness, rather than “running to the doctor and his pills every time you feel a cold coming on!”

References

Lewis, T. (2006). Seeking health information on the internet: lifestyle choice or bad attack of
cyberchondria? Media, Culture & Society 28 (4): 521-539. Retrieved April 20, 2010, from
https://qutvirtual.qut.edu.au/portal/pls/portal/cmd_request_p.show_item?p_item_id=158428

MediLexicon. (2010). Medical Dictionary: Cyberchondria. Retrieved April 22, 2010, from
 http://www.medilexicon.com/medicaldictionary.php?t=22172

Nielsen, S. & Barratt, M.J. (2009). Prescription drug misuse: is technology friend or foe? Drug and Alcohol Review, 28 (1), 81-86. Retrieved April 20, 2010, from https://qutvirtual.qut.edu.au/portal/pls/portal/cmd_request_p.show_item?p_item_id=158449