YouTube is ahead. When young people find out about health issues, most do so via the video platform of the US group Google. “22 percent of students between the ages of nine and 18 go to YouTube at least once a week when researching health content,” says a study by the Technical University of Munich, the Fulda University of Applied Sciences and the Barmer health insurance company, which is exclusively available to WELT. The study examined which internet sources young people use to obtain information about health issues.
In addition to the video platform YouTube, it is primarily messenger services and social media that students use to obtain information on medical issues. For example, 21 percent of the 1,450 students surveyed between the ages of nine and 18 said they searched for health topics at least once a week via messenger services such as WhatsApp, Signal or Telegram.
Social media such as Instagram, Twitter or Facebook are used by 19 percent of those surveyed for corresponding searches. Health portals (2.1 percent) and the websites of public authorities (2.1 percent) rank far behind.
“Young people use digital sources, the content of which can relatively often also be of a dubious nature. In order to be able to assess which information strengthens health, digital health literacy is essential,” commented the Barmer health insurance company on the results of the study.
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Apparently, students themselves are critical of their usage habits. According to the study, half of all students between the ages of nine and 18 self-certify that they have insufficient digital health skills.
Adolescent doctors are also critical of the trend towards information via video platforms and social networks. For Tanja Brunnert, a youth doctor with a practice in Göttingen and federal press spokeswoman for the Professional Association of Paediatricians (BVKJ), the problems do not begin with the usage behavior of young people.
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“Even many adults are often unable to correctly assess the information about health topics on such platforms. This means that young people are also missing important help to strengthen their digital skills,” says Brunnert.
Brunnert often experiences the consequences of the often insufficient digital competence in her practice. “It starts with very simple topics, such as young people being very thirsty one day and discovering on the Internet that they could now have diabetes because you drink a lot with this disease,” says Brunnert.
From the point of view of the pediatrician, it would be questionable if it were about the perception of one’s own body or about drugs. “Internet sources often give rise to misconceptions about one’s own body. Children who are completely normal weight then suspect that they are overweight,” says Brunnert.
Source: Infographic WORLD
The youth doctor has also noticed a dangerous trend towards playing down many substances in social networks when it comes to drugs. “Assessments are often expressed and believed in social networks, especially when it comes to cannabis, which deviate drastically from reality. Young people then claim, for example, that this drug is much more harmless than adults claim and that you can try it because it will soon be legalized anyway.”
Burkhard Rodeck, Secretary General of the German Society for Child and Adolescent Medicine, observes that young people are often given one-sided information through offers on social media and video platforms. “It doesn’t necessarily have to be false information, but topics are often perceived one-sidedly or classified with the wrong focus. This is also due to the fact that spectacular postings and videos are shared widely, while those with factual information receive far less attention,” says Rodeck. In addition, young people often find it difficult to assess the seriousness of sources.
The social media content of groups with an economic background would also pose a particular problem. “Anyone looking for healthy nutrition as a young person on social platforms on the Internet will come across, for example, mass offers of dietary supplements, with which someone usually wants to make a profit.
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However, a balanced diet is completely sufficient to cover the need for all vitamins and nutrients,” says Rodeck.
When it comes to tobacco and e-cigarettes, too, providers with a commercial interest are heavily involved in the channels frequented by young people, sometimes distorting the objective information.
Even adults get the wrong information on the internet
But even among adults, Rodeck often observes a lack of digital competence in dealing with health issues. “A classic is when the toddler has a fever. Many parents then look up information on the Internet, end up on some forums and come to the conclusion that this is an immediate threat to the child and call an ambulance.
In most cases, antipyretic measures are sufficient,” says Rodeck. This behavior would also have consequences for the use of the health system. “The fact that ambulances are called unnecessarily and emergency rooms are blocked is partly due to incorrect usage habits and information on the Internet,” says Rodeck.
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Both the German Society for Paediatrics and Adolescent Medicine and the Professional Association of Paediatricians want to be more present on the Internet channels frequented by young people in the future. Both organizations would therefore currently produce podcasts to provide targeted information on medical topics.
Youth doctor Brunner advises young people with medical problems to see a doctor in any case. “Anyone who has a concrete suspicion of an illness will not be helped by the Internet, but only by visiting a doctor,” says Brunnert.
She points out that young people from the age of 14 can talk to doctors without their parents being informed. In this way, young people can also address sensitive issues such as sexuality or drug use without their parents finding out about it directly. Doctors’ duty of confidentiality also applies to parents.
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