We’re well-informed during a pandemic: health advice and new study results come at the speed of the live indicator, and experts express themselves daily and in principle, through talk shows, podcasts and WhatsApp chats. With such comprehensive information, we can then act in the interest of our health. or?
Well, to be honest: Even I, as a doctor, don’t always see what’s going on right away. My thesis would prefer that the subjective level of knowledge is inversely proportional to the amount of information we have to process in a short time.
And there are reasons for that. But first: Do you still want to be well informed two years into a waning pandemic? Do you want it all over again every week, and about everything new? By Wednesday at the latest, the craving for the weekend overshadows everything; Happy is he who lives until then without a positive result. Who keeps getting an overview, delving into study findings and evaluations that sometimes conflict with each other? Tired of headlines promising exciting science news, and sometimes just click-bait?
And even if there was enough power: Health literacy doesn’t grow evenly with more health information. Long before the pandemic, navigating through the chaos of data and distinguishing between good and bad medical promises wasn’t easy. You also have to trick your brain: In complex situations, he likes to keep it simple and sometimes (also) thinks briefly to save energy. This leaves us vulnerable to offers that look good – and provides a quick way out of complexity. Even if they don’t really work.
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