Issue link: https://blog.providence.org/i/1009460
Hopelab & Well Being Trust 84 Appendix In Their Own Words Young people, online health information, and peer-to-peer health resources "I have type 1 diabetes and tried to find a group of teenager type 1's on Facebook. I did. It was cool. Made some friends." – 14-year-old White male "I found a very good friend in another country that had the same condition as I did, and it was truly inspiring to have the freedom to tell them about it and likewise them to me!" – 21-year-old Latino male "Heart disease research when my grandpa had to put stents in, found out what it was all about via searching Google. Felt very confident in the procedure once I read other people's experiences with it." – 16-year-old White female "I wanted to know something about birth control and people had the same questions and it helped me know that I wasn't alone." – 21-year-old Latina female "My mom was making me get the hepatitis A vaccine and [another] one for HPV and I didn't know what the shots were for, and I was too scared to ask the nurse about it, especially after she started talking about gay sex & warts, so I went online to [a medical website] and tried to research it myself. It's still hard to do that when you don't what the words mean. I finally asked my mom & she sat down with me, and we got online and did the pros & cons. I felt better after cause she was explaining what I didn't understand." – 14-year-old White female "I asked about the electric cigarettes to quit smoking; a lot of people had something to say but I asked if the gum or those cigarettes are addicting. Because my friend can't seem to stop using them." – 17-year-old Latino male "I went on a chat forum for people with eating disorders. I made a friend that I keep in touch with. We talk about what we have been eating recently and how we have felt about our situation." – 15-year-old female "I shared my experience with IBS [irritable bowel syndrome] on Facebook and gave tips [for] major flair ups." – 22-year-old female "Three years ago, as a female my body started to have irregu- larities and [I] thought it was only me until I searched online for other women who had the same concerns. Turns out I have Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and [it] is treatable." – 22-year-old female "I read someone's [story of their]... recovery [from] trichotillo- mania [pulling out one's hair] and found it inspiring and reliev- ing that I wasn't the only person experiencing this compulsion since childhood." – 20-year-old female "I shared my scoliosis journey and spinal surgery and updates on post-surgery recovery." – 20-year-old female "I have watched several people detail their fitness routines and how they used it to beat mental health disorders such as body dysmorphia and those affected by obesity and food addiction." – 22-year-old Black male "I've watched several videos that are first person accounts of coping with depression and anxiety. I can't give specifics, because there were a few separate instances and all were not very memorable. It was about finding a sense of 'I'm not the only one', not about finding out about a specific person's struggle." – 22-year-old White female