Teens Turn to Web for Health Info

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Tuesday December 11 1:45 PM ET

Survey Finds Teens Turn to Web for Health Info

By Reshma Kapadia

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Teens and young adults are

flocking to the Web for health-related information as

much as they are downloading music and playing games

online, and more often than shopping online, according

to a national survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation

released Tuesday.

A survey conducted by the foundation found that one in

four people 15 to 24 years old say that they get ``a

lot'' of health information online and a significant

proportion of youth are acting on what they find.

``We had no idea that so many young people were going

online to get health information. A lot of us assumed

that they were going online just to download the

latest Red Hot Chili Peppers song so that was a

surprise. It is even more so than adults,'' said

Rideout, vice president and director of the

program for the Study of Entertainment Media and

Health at the foundation.

Nearly 40% of those surveyed said they have changed

their own behavior because of information they found

on the Web.

The survey, Generation Rx.com, includes findings on

how young people use the Internet as a health

resource, their concerns about confidentiality, their

opinions on filtering technology and online

pornography, and new data on where and how often teens

and young adults are going online.

Half of all online youths have searched the Web for

information on specific diseases such as cancer or

diabetes. Sensitive, youth-oriented topics such as HIV

(news - web sites)/AIDS (news - web sites), birth

control and sexually transmitted diseases are also

popular.

About one in four of those surveyed have looked up

information on weight issues, mental health, drugs and

alcohol and violence.

``Confidentiality is so important and at this point

most young people have faith that the Internet offers

them that confidentiality,'' Rideout said.

The majority of youth who have surfed the Web for

health information do so just a few times a year, but

nearly four in 10 do so at least once a month, the

survey found.

Among those surveyed 90% have gone online and three

out of four have Internet access from their home.

About 17% of young people said they would trust health

information found on the Web ``a lot'' while 40% said

they would trust it at least ``somewhat.''

Rideout said the study, one of the first to look at

this age group's interest in health issues on the Web,

raises a series of questions, including the quality of

the information available and targeted at this age

group.

Among 15- to 17-year-olds who were looking for health

information online, nearly half said they have been

blocked from sites that they said were

non-pornographic due to filtering, the survey found.

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