The convergence of the processes of media saturation (saturation of society with media) and the mediatisation of many spheres of public life are bringing about changes in the functioning of Polish society. Subjected to constant stimulation, the individual increasingly forms his or her ideas about the world around him or her mainly on the basis of images created in media messages. The media, in turn, by focusing the attention of their recipients on sensational, surprising or frightening messages, present their viewers with a picture of the condition of the Polish health service or the achievements of the medical community that is not entirely true. The stimulation and intensification of messages, however, is multichannel in nature, and not limited to traditional mass communication media, it also penetrates the fabric of the Internet. Immersed in this virtual world, individuals have gained a tool that enables them to fulfil almost every information need. They use it almost compulsively, acquiring not only information of all kinds, but also the illusory idea of being well informed. Furthermore, the individual activity of users, forced by the logic of the new media, directs them towards a natural form of self-expression in the process of commenting, evaluating and reviewing. In effect, hijacked by the egalitarian undercurrent of verification of all judgements and opinions, they check and value the diagnoses or decisions presented by doctors. The attitude of involvement in one's own diagnostic or therapeutic process is worth appreciating, but special attention should be paid to the fact that it is also an element of wider social change.
Excerpt from the book