The digital divide, health information and everyday life

Abstract

Survey data confirms that health information is very popular with internet users yet relatively little qualitative social science research has been conducted about how people incorporate information from the internet into their everyday information practices. This article reports on an empirical study of the role of the internet in people’s efforts to inform themselves about menopause and hormone replacement therapy (HRT) in the case of women, and erectile dysfunction and Viagra in the case of men. These experiences are used to interrogate the notion of the ‘digital divide’. We develop the concept of access to incorporate not only physical connection and information literacy, but also gendered and generational social relations. We also develop Barkardjieva’s concept of the ‘warm expert’ to draw attention to the different types of information that people need in order to make sense of generic medical information that is relevant to their own circumstances.