Interrupting Anxiety-Driven Online Health Searches: A Preventive Digital Cyberchondria Intervention

Abstract

The rise of cyberchondria, which is defined as excessive and anxiety-driven online health searches, presents a lot of challenges for individuals' well-being and also for public health in general. Often leading to stress or self-diagnoses, it is very important to support individuals in coping or even preventing this excessive misuse. Therefore, this work describes the design and prototypic development of a solution to prevent cyberchondria early. Important requirements through a user-centered, iterative design approach were identified and implemented. This work advances digital mental health by providing a preventative tool that encourages healthier information-seeking behaviors and supports early intervention in everyday digital environments.