Hacker News Reader

Goes without saying, but "Don't google your symptoms." has been an unwritten law of the Internet since Google first became the dominant search engine. WebMD and its knockoffs have been hot garbage for quite some time now.

View on HN

yeah they all pander to hypochondriacs and people who suffer from anxiety. Oh and they all absolutely prey on new parents. Never ever resort to the internet as a new parent, just call your pediatrician. As a father of two, i can't stress the previous sentence enough.

There's a standup bit, I don't remember who the comic is, where he says, "my elbow was kinda sore after I was playing a bunch of tennis. I looked it up on the internet and oh no! It turns out I have elbow cancer!"

im not sure i see the punchline? theres a group of connective tissue cancers called sarcomas that are often found near knees and elbows.

The joke is that anything medical you search for online you'll end up having your greatest fears validated, rather than get helpful and balanced insight.

Or rather, all online diagnoses are cancer.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com