Is The Internet Making You Ill?

Scrolling health symptoms online can lead to stress and anxiety

- Ali Horsfall

It’s been a year of worrying over symptoms such as coughs and temperatures. And coupled with the fact that many people have missed out on general check-ups with a doctor – NHS data showed a 30% decrease in GP appointments last year – it’s only natural to want reassurance that you’re fit and well.

Google is often the first port of call to seek answers or to suss out new niggles. On the internet, you can read about symptoms, get treatment tips and scroll forums that discuss it all from common ailments to more serious conditions. But despite the usefulness of this 24/7 resource, could searching symptoms online actually be making us all more anxious?

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