Hopelab & Well Being Trust 37
Differences by Gender
Among our survey population of 14- to 22-year-olds, females are more
likely than males to report making use of digital health tools, including
going online for health information, looking for peer-to-peer health
advice online, and using mobile health apps. There are no differences
in how helpful females and males find the online resources they use.
• Ninety-one percent of teen and young adult females say they
have gone online for health information, compared to 83%
of males. The largest differences are in females' searches
for information on birth control (36 percentage points) and
pregnancy (35 points). There are also large differences in
the likelihood of females reporting they have gone online for
information about anxiety (a 26 percentage point difference)
and depression (22 points).
• Seventy-one percent of females TYAs surveyed say they have
tried mobile apps related to health, compared to 57% of males.
Three in ten (30%) females say they currently use a health app,
compared to two in ten (20%) males.
• Two-thirds (67%) of female TYAs say they have watched or read
someone else's health story online, compared to 55% of males.
• Forty-four percent of females say they have tried to find people
online with health concerns similar to their own, compared
to 33% of males.
• There are no statistically significant differences by gender in the
likelihood of young people reporting that they share their own
personal health experiences online, or that they use digital tools
to connect with health providers online.
Digital Health Practices
Demographic Differences
in Digital Health Use
