How to opt-out of My Health Record top Google search for Australians
Aussies spent a lot of time Googling their health problems in 2018.
Taking to Dr Google is the norm for many Aussies trying to find out what's wrong with them without having to go to the doctor's office. However, ailments weren't our top health concerns in 2018 with My Health Record our top searched health topic, according to Google Australia's Year in Search 2018.
After a year plagued with privacy concerns, outages and the opt-out date being extended until 2019, it comes as no surprise that My Health Record was a popular search term for Australians in 2018. "My Health Record" was the number four searched "News" topic and "How to opt-out of My Health Record" was the number one search in the "How to...?" category. As of 24 October 2018, 1,147,000 Aussies had opted-out My Health Record, according to the Australian Digital Health Agency.
Today the Government worked with the Senate crossbench to extend the opt-out period for #MyHealthRecord.
The opt-out period will be extended until January 31, 2019, however, it’s important to note that people can opt-out at any time.
— Greg Hunt (@GregHuntMP) November 14, 2018
Following an outbreak of listeria found in rockmelons, "Listeria" was the eighth highest searched "News" topic and "What is listeria" was the second most searched term in the "What is…?" category. One of the symptoms of listeria is diarrhoea, which could explain why "Why is my poop green" was the 10th highest searched for "Why is…?" topic – though I expect that question is a mainstay each year.
Nutrition was also of concern, with Keto recipes" being the number one search in the "Recipe" category. Those wanting to know "How to lose weight fast" and "How to lose belly fat" came in the 7th and 10th spots respectively in the "How to...?" category.
One topic that seemed to have a lot of Australians confused was ligma, with "What is ligma" being the third most popular search in the "What is...?" category. Before you tab to a new window, ligma gained popularity in 2018 after an image posted on Instagram claimed that popular Fortnite streamer Tyler "Ninja" Blevins had died from a disease called ligma. It was a hoax and asking someone "What's ligma" will be greeted with the response, "Lig ma ba!!s". Welcome to the Internet.
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Picture: Shutterstock / Know Your Meme
