Medical or health related content on YouTube is quite a massive industry, and it turns out that a surprisingly high proportion of people are relying on it for the purposes of making their own health decisions. According to a recent study that was published by BMC Public Health, 88% of the people that participated in a survey watched content of this variety on YouTube. 85% of these individuals said that this had some kind of an influence on health related decisions that they made with all things having been considered and taken into account.
On top of all of that, 44% went so far as to say that they rely on these YouTube videos to figure out whether or not they need professional medical care or advice for a given ailment. What's more is that they decide on adopting health practices after watching these videos as well.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that 59% of adults are watching health related content on YouTube as of 2022. That is a sharp uptick from the 40% that said the same in 2020, which just goes to show how much influence this rapidly rising genre can end up having on people.
3,000 people were surveyed as part of this study, and it seems to suggest that the proportion may be even higher than previously considered. Such a trend may very well end up being dangerous because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up spreading misinformation. People might potentially believe factually dubious information and make the wrong health related decisions as a result.
15.7% of the people that responded to this survey said that they base their health decisions off of YouTube quite often, indicating that it is a big part of their diagnostic process. With healthcare so far out of reach for such a large chunk of the world, these people may not even have another option apart from relying on whatever information they can get from internet based sources such as YouTube and the like.
Image: DIW-Aigen
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On top of all of that, 44% went so far as to say that they rely on these YouTube videos to figure out whether or not they need professional medical care or advice for a given ailment. What's more is that they decide on adopting health practices after watching these videos as well.
With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that 59% of adults are watching health related content on YouTube as of 2022. That is a sharp uptick from the 40% that said the same in 2020, which just goes to show how much influence this rapidly rising genre can end up having on people.
3,000 people were surveyed as part of this study, and it seems to suggest that the proportion may be even higher than previously considered. Such a trend may very well end up being dangerous because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up spreading misinformation. People might potentially believe factually dubious information and make the wrong health related decisions as a result.
15.7% of the people that responded to this survey said that they base their health decisions off of YouTube quite often, indicating that it is a big part of their diagnostic process. With healthcare so far out of reach for such a large chunk of the world, these people may not even have another option apart from relying on whatever information they can get from internet based sources such as YouTube and the like.
Read next: ChatGPT Use Ruins Memory and Academic Performance According to This Study By Pakistani Researchers
