Eight in 10 Internet users go online for health info, especially for someone else.

Eight in 10 adult Internet users have looked for health information online, making it one of the most popular online activities, after e-mail (93%) and researching a product or service before buying it (83%), according to Princeton Survey Research Associates for the Pew Internet and American Life Project. Women (85%) are more likely than men (75%) to look for health information online, and are also more likely to have sought information on multiple health topics.

Going online for health information isn't an everyday activity, however. On a typical day, 6% of Internet users are looking online for health information, compared to 49% who are using e-mail, and 19% who are researching a product or service. The number looking for health information is comparable to the 5% buying a product online on a given day. Eight in 10 people who conduct health searches online do so every few months or less. More than half do so on behalf of someone else rather than for themselves.

More than half (54%) have …