Abstract:

Cyberchondria can be seen as a reflection of the concept of hypochondria, which is defined as fear and anxiety caused by different interpretations of bodily sensations. While individuals become easily accessible to online healthcare information, they can negatively impact health by misinterpreting the statement or accessing the wrong information. In this context, communication students, who are supposed to know the communication environments most closely, have studied the situations of cyberchondria, which is an online behavior. Using the Cyberchondria Severity Scale, 120 students were reached and responses were analyzed. According to the results, score differences between scale dimensions were also seen. The average scores of the participants were higher than the average of the literature. Participants were also found to enter the search online, but still secure their doctors in the last step. The average scores of the participants were higher than the average of the literature. They also found that participants made online searches, but still secured their doctors at last.

Keywords: