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Pamela
The internet has changed dramatically over the past twenty years. The way people utilize the internet and gain access are also very different than twenty years ago. I can remember going to the library and using the card index and microfiche to look up facts.
It used to be that you could only access the internet via dial-up. Then it moved to ethernet. Remember that these devices were also stationary. Now, people access the internet from mobile devices, tablets, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. People have the ability to seek out information faster than ever. This service is used on a daily basis in our schools, at work, in businesses, and at home.
Anshuka
I have learned that different types of information-seeking behaviors make a difference in the outcomes by how you are seeking it. There are many influencers that go into information seeking. There are so many platforms like the internet, social media, health communities, support organizations, and other resources where you can find an abundance of information. What surprised me is that too much information can have a negative impact on your decision-making process and outcomes. I was not aware of the different models that can help us understand and predict search behaviors. Fitting data in one frame and searching for information with the models that best suit what type of information you are looking for makes a positive impact on your goal. There are some barriers that can make it difficult like the antecedent factors which I was aware of and how it compiles and makes a difference in the search for information which can be a downfall as well as a positive influencer in information seeking. I have learned that our health information-seeking behavior can impact how we look at things that make a difference in what our outcomes are. The information field, channels, carriers, sources, and messages are interlinked which also provides motivation and use of strategies to move from one source to another to get to the intended information or the goal.
I can relate to the sensemaking approach e.g., at work. If I want to learn about a patient's illness, I usually look online and try to use my knowledge to find meaning through browsing and searching. The mental mode helps me to fill the gap and try to understand how the provider diagnoses a patient with a certain type of disease. I seek information from the provider, the patient’s history, the current results, and the symptoms they are having to combine and make sense of the diagnosis. The answers are compared to the original problem represented by the gap. If there is still a gap, the search continues. The importance of saliency is quite significant in information seeking to come to a solution. There are strategies, processes, and concepts that tie together to come to a decision or outcome.
