Is the Internet the right source for conquering knowledge on diseases?

Abstract

Aim. The main aim of the project is to find out the opinions of the young people aged 18–30 on finding their disease symptoms on the Internet and about their emotions in order to establish the credibility of the sources they use and to understand the retrieved data.
 Methods. The study involved 100 people aged 18–30 who voluntarily completed a proprietary electronic questionnaire examining the attitude of young people to searching for disease symptoms on the Internet. In this work, the method of diagnostic survey was used.
 
 Results and Conclusion. Many of respondents found a diagnosis on the Internet based on their symptoms at least once in their life. Most of this information was searched for on the first pages appearing in a web browser after entering a given ailment into a search engine.
 Most respondents, indicate anxiety about their health as the main reason for which they searched for disease symptoms on the Internet. A lot of respondents did not consult these with a doctor. A large group of respondents claims that the information retrieved resulted in them experiencing fear and/or panic. The COVID-19 pandemic influenced the frequency of searching for health ailments on the Internet. The obtained results show the attitude of young people to searching the meaning of disease symptoms on the Internet.
 Cognitive value. The cognitive value of this article is the selection of a specific research group, which has enjoyed the possibility of easy and universal access to the Internet from an early age and for whom the Internet has become the main source of obtaining information in almost all areas of science and life.