More Americans are Googling themselves - and many are checking out their friends, co-workers and romantic interests, too. In a report Sunday, the Pew Internet and American Life Project said 47 percent of U.S. adult Internet users have looked for information about themselves through Google or another search engine. That is more than twice the 22 percent of users who did in 2002, but Pew senior research specialist Mary Madden was surprised the growth wasn't higher. "Yes it's doubled, but it's still the case that there's a big chunk of Internet users who have never done this simple act of plugging their name with search engines," she said. "Certainly awareness has increased, but I don't know it's necessarily kept pace with the amount of content we post about ourselves or what others post about us."
About 60 percent of Internet users said they aren't worried about the extent of information about themselves online, despite increasing concern over how that data can be used. Americans under 50 and those with more education and income were more likely to self-Google - in some cases because their jobs demand a certain online persona. Meanwhile, Pew found that 53 percent of adult Internet users admit to looking up information about someone else, celebrities excluded. Often, it's to find someone they've lost touch with. But looking up information about friends, relatives, colleagues and neighbors also was common. Although men and women equally searched for online information about themselves, women were slightly more likely to look up information about someone they are dating.
View: Full Story @ Associated Press
... sorry I couldn't resist.
I like it this way though, hides my info a bit better lol
lol
i wish i had free time to google my name
Agreed. It doesn't take much time knowing where and who is using your name.
i wish i had free time to google my name
So you don't have time because of your busy, busy, busy life to type your own name into google.com and hit search, but you do have time to come on neowin and make a post about people 'not having lives' in a news story about people googling themselves.
Seems to me that you shouldn't have time to ever post again, and I'm glad.
i wish i had free time to google my name
So you don't have time because of your busy, busy, busy life to type your own name into google.com and hit search, but you do have time to come on neowin and make a post about people 'not having lives' in a news story about people googling themselves.
Seems to me that you shouldn't have time to ever post again, and I'm glad.
*cheer*
i wish i had free time to google my name
So you don't have time because of your busy, busy, busy life to type your own name into google.com and hit search, but you do have time to come on neowin and make a post about people 'not having lives' in a news story about people googling themselves.
Seems to me that you shouldn't have time to ever post again, and I'm glad.
The winner!
My full name doesn't bring up anyone with my full name. Other people with the same last or first name, but never both... and I've never done it to see if my personal information was on the net. Always to see if someone with the same name as me is gonna pop up.
I've only ever pulled up other peoples' names if they were beside me and we're bored, *Googles their name, see what comes up*.
<AOL>me too</AOL> although there are plenty with the same name as me...
Which is where we differ.
Considering I've been "on the net" (stupid phrase) since 1994 there is nothing in my name AFAICT. In order to find something about me you'd have to know enough to negate the search (in appropriate resources) in the first place.
Under various nicks however, there's tons...
Last edited by mrbester on 17 Dec 2007 - 18:19
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