For many, it can be intimidating or even impossible to seek professional medical help if they have symptoms of an illness. As such, some people approach platforms like Reddit or Quora for a community-based conversation in an attempt to diagnose themselves. In this paper, we unearth what motivates people to share personal health information on these platforms. From an online survey and in-depth interviews, we present who this population of users are, and what, where, and why they are posting. Our evaluation finds that tech-savvy young adults are more likely to post on online platforms about potentially sensitive or highly specific topics for convenience, fast response, and a sense of community. Most importantly, we found that anonymity, distrust of physicians, and prior experience with platforms were key factors that affected behavior.

翻译：对许多人而言，若出现疾病症状，寻求专业医疗帮助可能令人畏惧甚至无法实现。因此，部分人群转向Reddit或Quora等平台，通过社区对话尝试进行自我诊断。本文旨在探究促使人们在此类平台分享个人健康信息的动因。通过在线调查与深度访谈，我们揭示了这类用户群体的特征，及其发布内容、场域与动机。评估发现，精通技术的年轻群体更倾向于在在线平台发布可能敏感或高度专业化的内容，主要出于便利性、快速响应及社区归属感的需求。最关键的是，我们发现匿名性、对医师的不信任感以及既往平台使用经验是影响其行为的关键因素。