Web or Waiting Room?
ACCORDING TO A RECENT
newspaper article, 85 per cent of us think a family
doctor is the most reliable member of society.
Yet only 10 per cent of us
believe what we read in newspapers; so that means 90
per cent of you don't believe a word I'm saying. The 10
per cent of you that do trust me might be interested to
learn that school teachers were the second most
trusted, followed by people who manage charities,
police and then judges. After journalists, it's no
surprise that politicians, estate agents and car
salesmen were ranked as the most untrustworthy.
Personally, I don't trust
weather forecasters; take Michael Fish in October 1987,
when he said during a forecast: "Earlier on today,
apparently, a woman rang the BBC and said she heard
there was a hurricane on the way... well, if you're
watching, don't worry, there isn't!.” That evening,
we had the worst storm since 1703 – I rest my case!
Strangely, however, we appear
to believe everything we read on the internet. So
despite the majority of us trust our doctor,
self-diagnosis websites have become the most popular
types of site to visit; second only to pornographic
websites – I've got a theory about that!
I can understand people
preferring to Google their symptoms, rather than
stripping naked and having a stranger investigate
crevices normally only explored by their partner under
a duvet. But to rely on information found on the
internet is madness. Perhaps it's nothing to do with
embarrassment, maybe people are being forced to the web
because they can never get a doctor's appointment.
Cancer Research has recognised the huge demand for
online information, they've been training their
'experts' to create and update web pages on sites like
Wikipedia. Despite the significant advances in cancer
diagnosis and treatment, the number of people living
with cancer in the UK is set to double by 2030.
Unfortunately then, the demand for these self-diagnosis
websites will inevitably increase.
Yet I'm convinced these
sites are turning us into a nation of hypochondriacs.
I confess I'm always looking
up my every ache and pain, so does every cancer
survivor I've met. So many times I've diagnosed that
I'm dying from a rare and yet undiscovered illness,
just to find I've simply drunk too much red wine. But
what I don't get is why we trust what we read on the
net.
Perhaps that explains why
online dating sites are popular – people think they've
found Mr Perfect!
My theory why self-diagnosis
websites are second in popularity to pornographic sites
is simple – you still get to see naked flesh, and if
someone walks in, you're less likely to look like a
pervert!
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