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The “Be All and End All”? Young People, Online Sexual Health Information, Science and Skepticism

journal contribution
posted on 2021-09-01, 00:00 authored by A Farrugia, A Waling, Kiran PienaarKiran Pienaar, S Fraser
In this article, we investigate young people’s trust in online sexual health resources. Analyzing interviews with 37 young people in Australia using Irwin and Michael’s account of science–society relations and Warner’s conceptualization of “publics,” we explore the processes by which they assess the credibility of online sexual health information. We suggest that when seeking medical information, young people opt for traditionally authoritative online sources that purport to offer “facts.” By contrast, when seeking information about relationships or sexual practices, participants indicated a preference for websites presenting “experiences” rather than or as well as “facts.” Regardless of content, however, our participants approached online sexual health information skeptically and used various techniques to appraise its quality and trustworthiness. We argue that these young people are productively understood as a skeptical public of sexual health. We conclude by exploring the implications of our analysis for the provision of online sexual health information.

History

Journal

Qualitative Health Research

Volume

31

Issue

11

Article number

ARTN 10497323211003543

Pagination

2097 - 2110

Publisher

SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC

Location

United States

ISSN

1049-7323

eISSN

1552-7557

Language

English

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal