Consulting Dr. Google: Two experimental studies on seeking mental health information online

The internet is a widely used source for mental health information, yet it remains unclear whether online searches lead to a more thorough understanding of mental disorders. This study examined whether individuals find accurate mental health information online and whether searching the internet enhances their sense of preparedness for health decision-making in two experiments. In Experiment 1 (N = 243), we randomly assigned participants to one of three case vignettes describing a close friend experiencing symptoms of a well-known mental disorder (depression), a lesser-known mental disorder (social phobia), or a non-clinical problem (grief). They were further randomly allocated to either an internet group, which identified the disorder and answered questions about its treatment by searching the internet, or a control group which relied on prior knowledge to complete the same task. Afterward, all participants rated how prepared they felt to make related health decisions. Experiment 2 (N = 252) followed the same procedure but asked participants to imagine experiencing the symptoms themselves and replaced the grief vignette with one about anorexia nervosa, a moderately-known mental disorder. In both experiments, internet searches improved answer accuracy for social phobia but not for depression or anorexia nervosa. Furthermore, participants did not feel better prepared for health decision-making following a web search. These findings suggest that web searches lead to an information gain - and potentially increase knowledge - about lesser-known disorders, but do not raise knowledge of better-known mental disorders or improve preparedness for health decision-making.