When kids today need information about sexually transmitted diseases, drug use, and pregnancy, they're more than likely to turn to the Internet, say a new study. More than 50 percent of young people aged 13 to 24 access health and wellness information on the Internet, rather than from traditional support services like telephone hotlines. And the Web sites they're turning to include places like WebMD.com and Health.com, as well as confessional sites, where they can post anonymously on message boards and get advice. "Youth Health and Wellness: Core Issues and Views on Existing Resources," says 15.1 percent of those who use the Web for information about health and wellness cite WebMD.com as their source, followed by search engines like Google and Yahoo!. Seventeen percent of those surveyed visited online confessional sites or message boards to share something personal, and 87 percent say they've had positive experiences. "This study points to the need to go where youth already congregate—MySpace, Facebook, and other social networking sites—to integrate positive healthy norms, critical health information, and in-person resources for youth in crisis," the report says. When respondents were asked to list recommendations for a new Web site geared toward youth mental health and wellness, they stressed the importance of marketing its availability widely. They also said safety and anonymity were key, followed by ease of use. These responses suggest that health and wellness Web sites are most helpful for youth when they "include both accurate, accessible information and a community where users can interact and obtain personal support from both peers and professionals," the report says, adding that they should also be fun and interactive. "Youth have always gotten information about sensitive and personal health issues from their peers. What's changed today is that they're communicating with their peers online within their social networks," says Deb Levine, executive director of ISIS, a nonprofit organization that develops innovative sexual health information through technology and one of study's sponsors. "It is the responsibility of health professionals to go where young people are, rather than force them to search for health information that could save their lives." The survey, a collaboration between ISIS, YouthNoise, an advocacy site for those under the age of 27, and marketing firms Ypulse and Peanut Labs, was conducted nationally with 1,600 young men and women and was created to help businesses and organizations better identify gaps and opportunities for delivering health information to youth.