Teens today are seen as "digital natives." They were born into a digital world and seem to be inseparable from social media, texting and the Internet.
However, based on a recent survey from Northwestern University's Center on Media and Human Development, teens may not be so attached to the digital world when it comes to health information. In fact, they are more likely to frequently turn to their parents than the Internet for health information.
Here are 17 key findings from the report, which includes data from a survey of 1,156 U.S. teens ages 13 to 18.
- 84 percent of teens ages 13 to 18 have looked for health information online.
- Among those who have looked for health information online, 58 percent often Google the topic in question and 50 percent say they click on the first result.
- Just 21 percent of teens have downloaded a mobile health app.
- 32 percent of teens altered their behavior after accessing digital health information or tools.
- 53 percent of teens say they look for health information online for school assignments.
- 45 percent say they look online for proactive and preventive tips.
- 33 percent use the Internet to self-diagnose or treat a health issue.
- 25 percent have gotten "a lot" of health information online.
- 36 percent have gotten "some" health information online.
- 22 percent have gotten "only a little" health information online.
- 14 percent have gotten no health information online.
- Teens most common source of health information is their parents (55 percent use them a lot), followed by school health classes (32 percent), physicians and nurses (29 percent) and the Internet (25 percent).
- The only sources teens used less than the Internet for health information were books (10 percent), TV news (9 percent), the radio (4 percent), newspapers (3 percent) and magazines (3 percent).
- 10 percent of teens get "a lot" of health information from books.
- Teens mainly search for fitness information online (42 percent of teens have researched this), followed by diet and nutrition (36 percent), stress and anxiety (19 percent), STDs (18 percent), puberty (18 percent), mental health issues (16 percent) and sleep (16 percent).
- 41 percent of teens have used the Internet to search for negative health information, such as how to play drinking games, how to find tobacco, how to be anorexic or bulimic and how to get or make illegal drugs.
- Lower income teens are more likely to face health challenges, but just 44 percent have access to a health class at school and they are between 17 and 26 percent less likely to have access to a digital device than their higher income peers.
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