Impact of Cyberchondria on Anxiety and Stress Among Students

Jasmita Kaur Budhiraja

Abstract: Cyberchondria when people keep checking symptoms online but feel worse instead of better is popping up more in younger people. This research investigated how it ties to worry and stress in college going students. The data is gathered information from 160 students, ages 18 to 27, through Google Forms, picking whoever was available at the time. Handed out three well known questionnaires: one on cyberchondria (CSS-15), another on general anxiety (GAD-7), plus a stress check (PSS-10). To make sense of things, they ran basic number summaries along with Pearson's r to spot links. People showed mild worry about online health info, with mental health issues being what they looked up most. More anxiety linked clearly to more online symptom checking (r = 0.318, p < 0.001), while stress also played a role, though weaker (r = 0.180, p = 0.023). Looking up symptoms often seems tied to feeling worse emotionally. Overall, this research points out that cyberchondria?s become a real issue for younger people today, especially with how much time they spend online. These results show we should push for better education about internet use also teach coping tools for anxiety and dig into longer term studies, so we get clearer insight into how constant health lookups mess with someone's head.

Keywords: Cyberchondria, Online Symptom checking, Student Anxiety, Perceived Stress, Mental health awareness

How to Cite?: Jasmita Kaur Budhiraja, "Impact of Cyberchondria on Anxiety and Stress Among Students", Volume 15 Issue 2, February 2026, International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), Pages: 179-183, https://www.ijsr.net/getabstract.php?paperid=SR26202205136, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.21275/SR26202205136