 More young people get health information from the Internet than use it to download music, play games, or check sports scores, a new survey which is the first to look in depth at how young people use the Internet for health purposes finds.
"Young people aren't just going online to download the latest song from the Red Hot Chili Peppers or look for information on George Clooney's latest movie," said Vicky Rideout, the vice president of Kaiser Family Foundation and director of the program. "They're also looking for information on health issues that are really important to them."
The foundation polled 1,209 Americans aged 15 to 24 between Sept. 24 and Oct. 31. It found three out of four young people who use the Internet have searched for health and medical information. In fact, the only activities that more young people reported participating in were emailing, school research, and finding news and entertainment information. Online Sex Ed Nearly half of the young people surveyed use the Internet to access information on sexual health - not surprising, considering that a vast majority listed sexual health issues such as pregnancy, AIDS, and other sexually transmitted diseases as being "very important." Drug abuse and sexual assault were also considered "very important" topics by roughly three out of four surveyed. Experts agree that the confidentiality and convenience that the Internet provides makes it a likely choice for young people who might be too embarrassed to discuss sexual issues with their parents or doctors. Quality Information? The survey also found that young people seem to be quite savvy when it comes to discerning quality health information. While almost all said Web information is useful, many reported being skeptical about the quality of information. Dr. Gretchen Berland, a professor of medicine at Yale University, recommends a few strategies that can help young users avoid bad information on the Internet: Don't rely on just one source. Try using government and medical association sites. Look for references. Be skeptical of sites that try to sell you something. If you have questions, take them to someone you trust. (Agencies) | 年輕人上網(wǎng)已不再僅僅是下載一些音樂，玩玩游戲或者查看一下體育比賽的比分。最新一項(xiàng)調(diào)查顯示，越來越多的年輕人開始從網(wǎng)上獲得健康方面的知識(shí)。這項(xiàng)調(diào)查首次深入調(diào)查了年輕人如何利用互聯(lián)網(wǎng)來獲得健康方面的知識(shí)。 愷撒家庭基金會(huì)副主席維奇·賴德奧特主持了這項(xiàng)調(diào)查，他說："現(xiàn)在的年輕人上網(wǎng)并不僅僅下載一些紅辣椒樂隊(duì)的新歌或者了解一些喬治·克魯尼新片的消息， 他們從網(wǎng)上獲得一些健康和醫(yī)藥知識(shí)，這對(duì)他們是非常重要的。" 愷撒家庭基金會(huì)對(duì)1209名年齡在15至24歲之間的美國(guó)青年進(jìn)行了為期一周（從9月24日至10月31日）的跟蹤調(diào)查。結(jié)果發(fā)現(xiàn)上網(wǎng)的年輕人中的四分之三都利用網(wǎng)絡(luò)查詢過健康和醫(yī)藥方面的信息。除了電子郵件，學(xué)校信息，新聞?lì)愋畔⒑蛫蕵沸畔ⅲ徽{(diào)查者最感興趣的就是這方面的信息了。 在線性知識(shí)教育 近一半的被調(diào)查年輕人利用互聯(lián)網(wǎng)獲得性健康的知識(shí)。他們認(rèn)為大部分性健康話題，例如"懷孕"、"艾滋"和其它傳染性性疾病都很重要。約四分之三的被調(diào)查者還認(rèn)為吸毒和性攻擊的話題也很重要。 專家們也認(rèn)為，大部分年輕人和家長(zhǎng)或醫(yī)生談?wù)撚嘘P(guān)性知識(shí)的話題會(huì)比較尷尬，而互聯(lián)網(wǎng)隱秘和方便的特點(diǎn)使得年輕人樂意在此接受這方面的知識(shí)。 信息的可信度？ 在問及網(wǎng)上健康信息的可信度時(shí)，年輕人都表現(xiàn)的很理智。雖然大家都認(rèn)為網(wǎng)上的這部分信息是有用的，但很多人對(duì)這些信息的質(zhì)量表示懷疑。 耶魯大學(xué)醫(yī)學(xué)教授格雷琴·貝蘭博士向年輕的網(wǎng)民們提供了一些避免網(wǎng)上不良信息的建議： 不要依賴單一的信息來源； 盡量向政府和醫(yī)療協(xié)會(huì)主辦的網(wǎng)站查詢信息； 留心文章的參考資料； 對(duì)企圖向你推銷產(chǎn)品的網(wǎng)站保持警惕； 如果你遇到問題，不妨問問你信得過的人。 （中國(guó)日?qǐng)?bào)網(wǎng)站譯） |
Updated: 2001-12-13 01:00
