Internet et responsabilisation : perspective de l'usager au quotidien

Focusing on the perspective of the daily internet user, the object of this paper is to provide a synthesis of a study conducted within an international French-speaking population to illustrate three possibilities of personal responsibilization associated with this new type of media. The study is based on data drawn from a questionnaire-based survey conducted in 2006 among 2923 respondents who used a general public website devoted to promotional activities and to prevention and protection in the realm of general healthcare issues. Three main issues emerged from the questionnaires: use factors, the wide range of motivations and the feelings of competence, and control among internet users. The discussion highlights certain areas of interest for public healthcare derived from the importance attributed to heterodox knowledge, i.e. knowledge that is external to the biomedical knowledge valued by institutions in modern healthcare systems.