Abstract
This chapter describes young people’s use of the Internet in the service of their health and well-being. The Internet has both communication and information capabilities and the chapter details adolescents’ use of the Internet to enhance wellness and deal with illness. It begins by briefly considering the information capabilities of the Internet as regards health and well-being. Then it describes the nature and extent to which adolescents use online health- related information resources, such as websites and bulletin boards. We discuss adolescents’ use of these resources as a function of their age and gender and describe their health information seeking behaviors. We also consider the opportunities/advantages that online health resources may present for youth. In particular, we focus on the benefits (e.g., information and social support from peers) that they may provide for groups of adolescents who might not have offline access to these resources because of their location (e.g., rural areas, areas steeped in poverty), social isolation, or illness (e.g., teens with cancer). We also consider the challenges that online resources represent such as information overload, credibility concerns, and dangerous/harmful content. Finally, we address the Internet’s potential as a tool for treatment delivery, with particular attention to the factors that may limit the efficacy of such interventions with youth.
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Subrahmanyam, K., Šmahel, D. (2011). Technology and Health: Using the Internet for Wellness and Illness. In: Digital Youth. Advancing Responsible Adolescent Development. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6278-2_8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-6278-2_8
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