Adolescents seeking online health information: Topics, approaches, and challenges

Abstract

Adolescents seek online health information about general well-being, sexual health, mental health, and many other topics. They most often seek online health information using search platforms, but they also encounter health information through passive and active use of social media platforms. Adolescents tend to seek information that is relevant to their personal health concerns and reassurances that their health experiences are considered normal. However, much of the health information they encounter may be too complex, inaccurate, biased, or some combination of these. Despite being savvy technology users in general, adolescents experience a variety of frustrations when attempting to locate and identify reputable sources of online health information. This may be due, in part, to their use of information-seeking “shortcuts” that point to lower-quality information. Additionally, popular health trends such as fad diets constitute a substantial amount of online health information, and prolonged engagement with this information can contribute to an unhealthy fixation on unattainable health ideals. Similarly, searches for common health concerns can lead to information around rare, serious conditions, which can contribute to increased health anxiety. There remains much to learn about how adolescents’ online health information-seeking practices may contribute to positive and/or negative health outcomes. The ability of adolescents to obtain relevant and high-quality health information may be improved through systematic instruction around online health literacy.