Science

Susannah Fox delivered a guest lecture for a history of medicine course regarding the role of the internet in health care over the last 15 years.

Social media and mobile internet use among teens and young adults.

I believe that, although very few people engage with their health on a daily or even weekly basis, it is important to understand what they do when their attention is focused on a health question.

Search is central to health information gathering. Now search sites are guiding consumers to safe, trusted health websites. Is that such a bad thing?

Susannah Fox will provide data on the current internet population, with a particular focus on health communication, wireless adoption, social media, and implications for public health planning.

Social media is simply the current expression of patient activation and engagement. But this time e-patients are part of a larger cultural change that assumes access to information, enables communication among disparate groups, and expects progress.

Last week, bloggers gave more attention to the subject of global warming than at any time this year. And while skeptics continued to focus on “Climate-gate,” defenders were more vocal than in previous weeks. On Twitter, the growing Tiger Woods scandal earned the most attention. And on YouTube, a feisty exchange between the White House press secretary and a reporter was the most viewed news video.

The economy and health care continued to lead the news last week as they have so often in recent months. But global warming, thanks in part to a controversy over emails, received a record level of coverage.

Susannah Fox discusses Pew Internet's health research, including a special survey of people living with cancer.

A vote in Switzerland to ban the construction of Muslim minarets and controversies over global warming research led conversations in the blogosphere last week. On Twitter, it was a story about a local billboard campaign with unintended consequences. And on YouTube, a pop singer made her second appearance in recent weeks.