Just Google It

How many times have you said, “Just Google It”?

Google has become embedded in our society. We use Google to look up how to cook dinner, get directions to a new place, and even translate languages. Anything you want to know can be found by doing a simple Google search. With smartphones, Google is always at our fingertips. You can find an answer to your question in a matter of seconds. I think this is why we have become addicted to it. It makes learning about something super easy and simple. I know I personally use Google to search for things at least 5 times a day. But I don’t think this is a bad thing. It’s a good thing because it increases and enhances learning because it is so readily available. If you want to know something you don’t have to make time to go to a library to find books and information about it, you can look it up from wherever you are and have information about it instantly. 

Does Google have too much power over our lives? 

Some might say yes, but I say no. I think it only has as much power as we allow it to have. There are other search engines available to use if you don’t like Google. But the truth is they just don’t compare to Google so we don’t use them. If a better search engine were to come along, we would all switch over to it and give it the same amount of power. 

Google is also known for collecting data about its users. They use this data to tailor specific ads to you. If you search for running shoes one day, you might see an ad for the same shoes on a random website the next day. They also monitor which links you click on the results page and learn which ones are the most relevant to you. Many people feel that this endangers their privacy. I personally don’t have an issue with this or feel as though it's an invasion of my privacy. I actually find it useful most of the time because it requires less digging around on my part to find what I’m looking for. Anything that allows for less work and effort is fine by me! 

I think sometimes Google gets a bad rap. They are really just a tool to assist us and make life easier. Yeah, they take our data, but it's in an effort to help us by giving out better search results.