Is Yahoo Answers dangerous source of advice?

Question

some people seem to have genuine problems which they should seek professional advice on. Is Yahoo answers a help or could it encourage people to do the wrong thing?

Answer 1

I think Yahoo answers is a great place to get non-medical, non-professional help. If you want general information or opinions then I think this is a great forum. Just remember not to take everything too seriously, and get a second opinion if it is important.

Answer 2

I am noticing just how many people ask questions about their health where the absolutely ONLY wise thing would be to see a doctor and get the problem properly investigated, diagnosed and treated. The person might get an answer from somebody that is pretty much on target, but that still isn't a confirmation, and it can't provide the solution. But Yahoo Answers was never meant to be "expert answers", and a lot of the responsibility has to be on those who ask questions with this realization i n mind. It's up to all of us to be realistic in our expectations when we ask a question; and on the other side, to be responsible enough to not try to answer one unless we know we are able to from a position of some sort of knowledge that might genuinely be helpful. Seems t o me there are a lot of folks giving nonsensical answers just to get the "brownie points". One way or another, though, the ultimate responsibility is on the recipient of those answers to use common sense and good judgement. Especially with these health questions, both askers and responders have to realise that it is near impossible to give "expert advice" without knowing the full circumstances of that person's condition, and overall health history, and a lot of other stuff that can only be determined by proper diagnostic tests.. To borrow a phrase, for the person asking the question, the rule has to be "caveat emptor"

Answer 3

Yahoo Answers is a pleasant way to pass the time. It’s no more dangerous then the Dear Abby questions in the newspaper. Whenever I’ve had a serious question on here I have never received a helpful answer. But I’ll keep trying because I find it interesting.
Here’s an example of an answer I just wrote but for some reason yahoo pull the question before I could answer

It sounds like true love to me. When a girl says to you “I wish you were dead” it means she is trying to control her major high current desire for you with too much resistance. That was what you definitely felt, and again you were right about the short circuit in her head. As we all know any circuit like that is soon to over heat and short circuit. My suggestion would be to somehow turn down the high voltage major attraction she has for you and what ever you do don’t make her any more jealous that she all ready is.
If you’re dead you can’t be dating any other women. Yeah think about that.
If it’s something I know its women and this girl want to have your baby, the sooner the better.

Now does that sound like good advice to you?

Answer 4

Like so many things I think Yahoo Answers has the potential to be very dangerous, but so far I've mostly seen good advice. I've also seen people correct purposefully bad advice. There are a lot of opinion questions like, "How did XYZ work for you?" which tend to be less dangerous. When someone is asking questions on the internet that they should be asking a professional there's always danger, but usually the majority advise them to seek a real professional's help so hopefully they do.

Answer 5

This site is the ultimate example of "truthiness". Truthiness is a modern phenomena wherein truth is dictated by consensus. For example, if enough people agree that Alaska was the least populated state in 1909, then it must be true, although Alaska wasn't even a state in 1909. Truthiness can also be defined as "truth from the gut", as in "I know that our government did 9/11 and nothing anyone can tell will make me believe otherwise", therefore the GUT belief becomes fact (to the person). If 48% of New Yorkers polled believe that our government had prior knowledge to the terrorist attacks, and they convince another 3%, does that make it fact? Many today would argue yes. Somewhere along the line a frighteningly large proportion of our society stopped KNOWING with their head and started BELIEVING with their gut, and knowing and believing have become interchangeable, and that is why on this site you will get confident, concise, deliberate, well thought out, WRONG answers

Yes, sometimes dangerously wrong...

Answer 6

Yahoo answers could be very harmful IF the person has a serious medical or mental health issue and follows the non-professional advise of a stranger.

People should be encouraged to seek professional help, medical or counseling, when appropriate.

What is good for one person is not always good for another.

Answer 7

MOST.... people ususally include in their answer "but you should see your doctor". If a person really doesn't have the mental capacity to be objective while reading their health answers online, they would take advice from ANYONE. When people don't already know enough to call the doctor and would rather ask questions online, I personally assume that they're getting a preliminary idea of what's causing their 'problem' before they DO actually see a doctor.

Good question though. I guess my answer is this though: It's only a danger to the kind of people who are already a danger to themselves.

Answer 8

Yes, for certain people with no common sense, I guess it could be dangerous. But for the most part, I think it's just another opinion . You get answers from all over so it's useful to have a variety of opinions. I have found it useful for medical things. A down to earth answer instead of a Doctor spewing Big Words to look good. I have also found that a lot people are clueless about exercise and diet habits. Not necessarily here, but in life, so for them, to hear things from normal people with normal ideas, instead of a book, I think it could be very useful. In general, anyone who has heard it from just one source, lets say parents, might start believing it if a lot of other people agree.

Answer 9

Yahoo answers is no more dangerous than simply asking a well meaning friend who may or may not be knowledgeable about a question.

I think most who are here can tell the difference between a good answer and a bad one.

No one should make a major life decision solely on an anonymous answer, however.

Answer 10

You know, it's sad but there are people who deliberately give bad and even dangerous advice. Then there are the little kids who have no idea what they're talking about who think that they can give others the benefit of their stupidity.

Don't ask a medical question here. No one on these boards is qualified to give a medical opinion. A Dr. needs to examine and talk to a patient before he can make a diagnosis. Be smart. Take these answers for what they are: opinions and guesses.

Answer 11

Yahoo Answers come from a large cross section of society, and as we all should know, the average person is dumb, and half of the average are even dumber.
So, there is no doubt that for some, more "intellectually challenged" people, or more immature people, Yahoo Answers are definitely to be taken with a grain of salt.
If you want some facts and not opinion, GOOGLE your question, don't waste time here.