When hypochondriacs go online
Reuters: The number of so-called cyberchondriacs seeking health information on the Web has soared to about 160 million in 2006 — a 37 percent rise over two years, according a new poll.
“Cyberchondriacs now represent 84 percent of all online adults, up from last year’s 80 percent, and 72 percent in 2005,” Harris Interactive, the market research firm that conducted the survey, said in a statement.
“The reasons for this increase are that the total number of Internet users has increased somewhat and the percent of people online who have looked for information has increased as well,” it added.
The nationwide telephone poll of 1,010 adults conducted earlier this month showed cyberchondriacs on average search the Internet almost six times per month and the majority find what they are looking for.
Is there an idea there?
Filed under: Digital culture, Ideas & Innovations, News, Statistics
[…] focuses on health related search results. Such sites offer intrinsic value to the consumer, (according to a Harris survey, Cyberchondriacs now represent 84 percent of all online adults and 58 percent of people who look […]