Betting the Internet Can Help Keep Them Healthy takes

Now’s the time for an industrious medical researcher to begin a longitudinal study on the health effects of the Internet. Take a bunch of people who go online for medical information and a bunch of people who don’t, then wait to see which cohort keels over first. If onliners die out sooner, it’ll demonstrate that information technology is also misinformation technology.

Already, the number of Americans who seek medical information via the Internet stands at 52 million, according to a report by the Pew Internet & American LifeProject.