Cyber Monday courtesy of Flickr user Geektonic

The Monday after Thanksgiving is known as Cyber Monday, which shoppers look forward to. But is there a Cyber Health Day?

I never used to be very interested in shopping on “Black Friday” (the day after Thanksgiving). But a few years ago my wife and I wanted to get a printer for a relative and we saw a good choice at a great price advertised for Black Friday so we got out to the store at 6:00 a.m.  We purchased the printer at the much-reduced price. And we purchased a number of other items, also at significant savings. As long as we were out-and-about we went to a couple of other stores nearby. Then we went out for breakfast. We were back home around 9:00 a.m. And we actually had fun doing all this.

The following year I needed a new snow blower (yep – we live here in Michigan). And I saw an ad for one on Black Friday at a store that only had three at the reduced price. The doors opened at 5:00 a.m. so I was in line outside the doors at 4:00 a.m. It was bitter cold and I really didn’t dress for an hour outside in that weather. But I did get the snow blower – at a very good price.

We’ve found shopping online on Cyber Monday to be a warmer way to do some of this shopping. So no outing on Black Friday this year for us.

This cyber shopping is mainly for things we need and for gifts we wish to give during the holidays. But these purchases involve material things, and toys!

I wondered if the Internet helps people find things of a more spiritual nature. And so I wondered, what if there was a Cyber Health Day?

And here’s some interesting facts I’ve discovered.

According to a 2008 report entitled “How America Searches: Health and Wellness” by Noah Elkin at iCrossing, a digital marketing company, “59% of adults use online resources to obtain health and wellness information.” Using population data from the 2010 U.S. Census, by my calculations this would translate to over 138 million American adults looking online for health information. This report also shared that the Internet was the number one source of health information.

A 2005 Pew Research Center report entitled, “Health Information Online” found that “eight in ten internet users have looked online for information on at least one of 16 health topics“. Significantly, 30% of internet users searched online for information on alternative treatments. So it’s interesting to note that in 2002 the National Center for Complimentary and Alternative Medicine found that “prayer for self” and “prayer from others” were the two most-used alternative therapies.

Another Pew Research Center report entitled, “The Social Life of Health Information, 2011” says that “one in five adult internet users have gone online to find others with health concerns similar to their own“. 

So, in a way, it appears that every day can be a Cyber Health Day (or perhaps more accurately, a Cyber Health Information Day). Millions of Americans search for health information online in their quest for better health, many of whom search for information on alternative therapies. And more than a good price, I hope this helps them (us) find good health.