Approximate or accurate? Efficacy of daily use of weather and air quality mobile applications for pollen allergy sufferers?

ABSTRACT

Nowadays, technology permeates every aspect of human activity, from the professional to the recreational side, and the recent pandemic crisis has only amplified a clearly defined trend. Through portable devices, people play, work, and get information. The immediacy of information and of many aspects of our life is a condition that, once acquired, is difficult to give up. However, immediate information must also be correct, and not all issues can easily be simplified to the point of being understandable in the absence of basic theoretical notions to a large audience. This aspect is particularly relevant when dealing with issues related to human health and the communication problems encountered in recent months concerning the spread of SARS-CoV-2, and the vaccination campaign is there to prove it. With the intent of clarifying the advantages and disadvantages of fast and accessible information, in this article, some of the most widespread applications for mobile devices, dedicated to pollen allergens, air quality, parks, gardens, and green areas, were examined. A widespread lack of clarity on the sources of the data and on the criteria used to formulate synthetic judgments-that often confuse the final users-was noted.