The dark side of Doctor Google or health information on the internet

There have always been many hoaxes about diseases and treatments.In the Neolithic, migraines tried to eliminate by trembling the brain.Our grandparents tried to cure the incurable with concoctions based on wild flowers.For centuries, the creators of potions were also famous miraculous.Without going any further, Coca-Cola owes its original formula to a pharmacist, John S.Pemberton, who wanted to create a syrup against digestion problems. Related

The field of health is, therefore, a minefield where, according to one step, you can take the best diagnosis or, on the contrary, a totally delusional one.Or, already put, a refreshing Coca-Cola.When we believe in cures for our ills, we are capable of everything.This is the case, for example, of the bulo that began to run on the oil used to fry McDonald's potatoes, which, according to some, was ideal for treating baldness."It is an example of how it is extrapolated that some food additive may have some type of indication for the treatment of a disease," recalls Frederic Llorachs, one of the founders of the Doctoralia medical consultation portal.

Other bulls that circulate there tell us about the extraordinary power of the so-called "superfoods", such as quinoa or kale, which are used because they have a high energy load or certain nutrients.However, deep down, they don't they have better properties than common foods such as rice, legumes or potatoes.

Today, whether on the internet or in the media, there are foods or substances that become fashionable and that end up being the panacea to cure any ailment.But it is convenient to walk with an eye so as not to fall into delirium, such as those who have linked the intake of juices with the prevention of cancer, or those who have said that vaccines cause autism.Frederich Llorachs blames these misunderstandings for the excess of information on the internet about health issues, and especially that "badly categorized." In this sense, he believes that information should always be backed by a healthcare professional who is clearly identified as a source.

Wall between doctors and patients

The dark side of Doctor Google or health information on the internet

Overinformation encourages and increases hypochondria, anguish and conspiracy theories in Internet users, as well as the absence of data.As a consequence, lack of common sense and resorting to unreliable pages and testimonies end up building a wall of distrust between doctors and patients."The doctor-patient relationship should be based on trust, but the internet does not always contribute to it, but often the opposite happens," Llorachs points out.

Precisely, according to the study 'The doctor 3.0', of Doctoralia, the superinformation that patients have today is beginning to seriously hinder the work of health specialists in Spain.The so-called 'doctor Google effect' can lead to patients to give as certain all the information they find on the network, with the potential risk to their health that this entails.

The Doctoralia report highlights that more than half of the health specialists in this country (specifically 51.7%) are aware of the problem of medical overinformation and the dangers that this entails for the health of Internet users.In addition, many of those who have participated in the report recognize that, now that the patient has so much information, the figure of the doctor is questioned and it is more complicated for them that their recommendations be taken seriously.

The study also covers specialists from Brazil, Mexico and Poland, where patients are especially active in the use of digital health tools.In the case of Mexico, 45% of specialists believe that this information does not It helps them to treat their patients.In addition, three out of four doctors in Spain call attention to the fact that the information found through Google is not reviewed by specialists.They also complain that the information does not It is in many cases neither updated nor based on the latest scientific advances.

The key is to go to a trusted source

The dark side of Doctor Google or health information on the internet

To know the most reliable way possible about a medical condition on the internet, according to Frederic Llorachs, the key is to consult a source of trust, be it a medical association or a collegiate professional.Also, then it is convenient to always check this information with a professional that you know our particular case and that you can assess whether that information is relevant in our case.

At the level of institutions, there are also initiatives to improve the quality of health information circulating on the network.The #SaludSinBulos platform, for example, denounces these falsehoods and all the fake news that they originate and propagate at the speed of light in the sanitary environment."One of every three bulos circulating in the network is about health, being those related to food and cancer the most recurrent.In addition, all these false information generate a lot virality, "Llorachs laments.

Images | iStock

Comments

Internet of plants: a tomato knows as much about networks as you

The possibility of plant species communicating through complex networks, what some scientists have called the internet of plants , is an issue that has been discussed for a long time, at least 20 years.It was in 1997 when the scientist Suzanne Simard , from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver (Canada), published a study in the journal Nature on how Forest plants use complex systems where species exchange nutrients, send warning signals and relate to the environment. Although there is no scientific consensus, several investigations seem to support this hypothesis.If confirmed, as we read in a fascinating report by the Sinc Agency, the forests would act as huge structures that are articulated under the soil through a network in which factors invisible to the human eye interact and can determine the future of the climate.Understanding how it works is the challenge that even science faces. internet of plants and the wisdom of forests The premise of Suzanne Simard ...

New setbacks for conspiranoicos: radiofrequencies do not affect health

New evidence published by the Scientific Advisory Committee on Radio Frequency and Health (CCARS) in its 2016 Radio Frequency and Health Report indicates that there are no adverse health effects derived of exposure to radio frequencies emitted by mobile phone antennas or radio and television broadcasting.No evidence has been found on the danger in wireless systems (Wi-Fi) or airport scanners. The new 2016 Radio Frequency and Health Report collects, updates and analyzes the scientific evidence on the subject for the period between January 2013 and June 2016. radio frequencies are not dangerous According to the conclusions of the report " the critical analysis of the evidence supports that there are no technical or sanitary reasons that justify the arbitrary and discretionary imposition of more demanding exposure limits than those recommended by WHO-ICNIRP and the Union European ", while the application of more restrictive limits" would imply increasing the n...

GIF history: where they come from and where they are going

Funny, witty, curious... GIFs have already become a regular resource in social networks and messaging applications and have become part of our daily lives and jokes.It is an image format that has evolved significantly throughout its history and is experiencing a new awakening. In fact, to find its origins, we must go back more than twenty years ago .A moment in which they had little to do with what we know today and an evolution that we could not stop review.So let's find out where they come from and try to catch a glimpse of where they are going. What is a GIF The word GIF responds to the acronym of Graphics Interchange Format , or what is the same, graphic exchange format.A term for the graphic format used in the network for both static images and animations.In more concrete terms, it supports 8 bits per pixel and allows you to display images with up to 256 colors simultaneously-limited by a palette of 16 million-. This particularity makes it a perfect ally of infogr...

Amazon Prime Video arrives in Spain: this is all you need to know

That during the last years there has been a change in the way we enjoy audiovisual content is an obvious reality, as reflected by the huge popularity of streaming services like Netflix and the like.A context in which new competitors are constantly added and that, after the landing of this company in our country just over a year ago, is in full transformation. In fact, today we have learned of the incursion of a new protagonist in this area.Yes, because Amazon Prime Video has just arrived in Spain .A landing that takes place only two weeks away that of HBO, which culminates in a 2016 sown of changes.But, what exactly does it consist of? What advantages and disadvantages does it have compared to the "of its kind"? WHAT AMAZON PRIME VIDEO OFFERS The type, quality and quantity of movies and series offered by the service will be key when determining your success.A catalog a priori smaller than that of HBO and Netflix, but in which we find titles like Seinfield , Into...

What we know and what we suspect in the new Facebook algorithm change

"In my time, we read the newspaper in Facebook ".By 2020, nostalgia has taken over billions of people.In its memory, 2018, when Facebook stopped being Facebook to become Facebook again.Paraiso of engagement for brands and media, land paid for clickbaits and fake news, the social network of Mark Zuckerberg has given a rudder to his algorithm. He wants to return to his origins .And this is what will happen. Related If something goes well, to change it.40.653 million dollars entered in 2017.More than 2.100 million active users per month, a quarter of the world's population.But Zuckerberg is not one of those, of which they are.Want a Facebook with more social connections between people and less presence of brands and media .And what do your users want? Nearly two-thirds of American adults consume news on social networks.More than half do so on their Facebook walls.Pew Research Center data points to a clear trend: Facebook is becoming a media platform.54% of Facebook u...

No kidding: selfitis exists and can be a problem

Sometimes one thinks that social networks were created to share photos of faces putting on little bones and images of dishes overflowing with appetizing foods or, better, of faces putting little bones in front of plates overflowing with appetizing foods in the same shot.is to see faces, faces, faces...all of them smiling, as if looking at the smartphone mirror was the height of happiness.And it does not seem that there are so many beautiful and happy people, or maybe yes, that you go Namely.What envy. Well, what we're going to do: Janarthanan Balakrishnan psychologists from the Thiagarajar School of Management in India; and Mark D.Griffiths, of the Nottingham Trent University, in the United Kingdom, have published an article in the International Journal of Mental Health and Addiction entitled 'A study on' Selfitis', which names this mania of going around the world taking pictures of oneself, as if beyond our curls the world had been destroyed by that meteorite th...

Twitter shows the best of ourselves (it wasn't always going to be the worst)

In the era of social networks, accustomed to interact daily with Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Google or WhatsApp, we forget that these tools are phenomenal in the History of Humanity capable of mobilize hundreds of thousands of people in very different geographical locations in a matter of hours or even minutes. Already in the past, Twitter has asserted its more social dimension to mobilize people, companies or organizations and also, from a broader perspective, feelings of solidarity and support or also of rejection and repulses towards causes with an important mediatic impact.Recently, Twitter was once again the engine of solidarity after Dortmund's explosions as the Borussia Dortmund team bus passed on its way to the local stadium on the occasion of the Champions League match between the Borussia and the Monaco. These explosions did not have the devastating effect that they could have caused , so that everything remained in a major social commotion at international lev...

Most apps for children violate your privacy

Do you know if apps with which children enjoy their safety? A team of researchers from the International Computer Science Institute (ICSI) of the University of Berkeley has studied compliance with the Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) in these mobile applications for the little ones, through a scalable dynamic analysis that allows the automatic evaluation of privacy behaviors of Android apps. After studying 5,855 applications aimed at children, the research concludes that most of these apps, 57%, violate the privacy of their users mainly due to the use of data by third parties. apps for children and privacy Although many apps offer options in their configuration to respect the federal law that protects minors in the United States, by disabling tracking, their results suggest that a majority of applications either do not use these options or propagate them in wrong way. In addition, researchers believe that 19% of apps for children send user IDs to third parties to show ...

Are social networks damaging democracy?

The revelations according to which Russian agents inserted ads on Facebook that tried to influence the 2016 US elections raise a disturbing question: is Facebook bad for democracy? As an expert in the social and political repercussions of technology, I think that the problem is not exclusively from Facebook, but that it is much broader: Social networks are weakening some of the conditions that have historically enabled the existence of national states democratic. I understand that it is a dramatic statement, and I do not expect anyone to believe it immediately, but considering that almost half of all potential voters received false news promoted by the Russians in Facebook is an argument that must be debated. Associate Professor of Philosophy, Director of Center for Professional and Applied Ethics, University of North Carolina-Charlotte How we create a shared reality Let's start with two concepts: the "imagined community" and the "bubble filter". ...

This is how visual challenges star in some of the most viral content

Constantly, we all receive in our mail, our WhatsApp or our Facebook account, games that try to test our ingenuity, imagination or visual skill.There are a thousand types, more fun or darker.But they have one thing in common: we cannot avoid trying them and see if we are able to solve them .This is how the visual challenges star in some of the most viral content of the network. Visual challenges, why are we crazy? The visual challenges are games.So, they attend to this playful and fun part that people have no choice but to feed from time to time.They are pure and hard entertainment, with no more pretensions, and that desire to Having fun represents one of the main features that are sought when surfing the Internet . Another of the qualities for which they succeed is because they challenge the mind directly.Human beings love that feeling of feeling a little troubled, somewhat lost, but convinced that there is a solution to that enigma to which, sooner or later, it will come.Rathe...

Network One Online

Search This Blog