What Do Your Internet Searches Say About You?

If I was able to get a complete record of your internet searches what would I learn about you? What do you spend your time looking for? Do you use the internet to find new recipes? Stalk old partners? Or perhaps you like to research illnesses that you may or may not be suffering from? Would your search history tell me that:

1. You like to cook
2. You have trouble letting go of the past
3. You are a hypochondriac
4. All of the above!

I recently came across the most searched items in Australia in 2017, the list follows:

1. Top Australian Web Searches 2017
2. Australian Open 2017
3. Melbourne Cup 2017
4. Wimbledon 2017
5. Fidget spinner
6. Cyclone Debbie
7. iPhone 8
8. North Korea
9. Chris Cornell
10. iPhone X
11. Amazon Australia

What does this list tell me about Australians?

Firstly we obviously love watching sport, as the top three items are big sporting events. We also like to be diverted by trivia – number four is a fidget spinner. We have a bit of an interest in news (numbers 5, Cyclone Debbie, and 7, North Korea), and we’re big into mobile phones (numbers 6 and 9). We also like shopping (number 10). I’m pretty blown away by the fact that the old rocker Chris Cornell was number 8. He died in May and seems to be very missed. I must give his music another listen.

Are people using the internet to grow and learn?

If you have read any of my books about prospering and growing, you will know I believe that to succeed you need to be constantly growing and learning. You need to read and study extensively. Aim to be constantly upskilling. If you have an online business, learn computer programing or online design. But what “how to ..” question was most researched in Australia. Again the list follows:

Top ‘How To’ Searches 2017

1. How to make slime
2. How to make a fidget spinner
3. How to make fluffy slime
4. How to watch Mayweather vs. McGregor
5. How to buy Bitcoin
6. How to make slime without borax
7. How to use Snapchat map
8. How to unblock people on Instagram
9. How to make slime without glue
10. How to vote for gay marriage

Oh my goodness!!! What does this list say about Australians? There were no fewer than four questions about how to make slime. Maybe I should be encouraged. Are there a lot of mums and dads out there willing to look up recipes for slime with younger children and spend time playing with their offspring? Or there a lot of kids out there with too much time on their hands?

You are what you think and what you research online

There is an old saying – you are what you eat, but I believe that you are what you think. More than once I’ve said that what you focus on, what you think about will come to you. If you focus on achieving and being successful, you will get there, but if you are often frightened and live in fear of failure, then you will conjure up disaster. However what we spend our time researching online also provides an insight into our personal psyches.

The point I’m trying to make is that what you think about affects the direction of your life, and what you spend your time researching on the internet will also impact who you are and where you go. The internet is a wonderful tool. There is so much knowledge at there in cyber space. You can get a university degree just by studying online, but there is also a great deal of dark stuff on the internet and even more mindless guff.

Do not be tempted to waste your time reading trash online. Do not indulge in gossip on social media. Discipline your mind, stay focused on being the best version of yourself you can possibly be. Avoid online diversion.

Your search history is not private

The final point I want to make is that your search history is not private. Google keeps all data about your searches and passes it on to advertisers as does Yahoo and Bing. Have you ever looked at their privacy policies?

Google

Google states that by signing in, you allow Google to collect information about you. This may be your name, address, phone number, credit card number even a photo. In addition, using Google’s services allows them to collect information about your devices (including your mobile number or other unique device identifiers), your location, the details of your calls (like who you call and how long you spend on the phone), archives of your searches, your IP address, a unique identifier for any software you are using (like Chrome) and cookies or other tracking identifiers stored on your device.

Bing

Bing’s policy states that it uses cookies, including multiple ones if you are signed into a Microsoft service while on Bing. For each search, you’re associated with an IP address (which is deleted after six months) and a location. Bing also records the type of device you use and what you search for. Bing admits that it stores search terms and cookie IDs. Bing may use your searches to better target advertisements to you.

Yahoo

Yahoo collects your name, email address, birth date, gender, postcode, occupation, industry and personal interests, some of which is required to register on the site. Yahoo keeps information about your interactions and some business partners, information about your computer, browser, IP address and what sites you visit. It places cookies on your machine. Yahoo says it “provides anonymous reporting for internal and external clients”. Yahoo also shares your non-anonymous information with “trusted partners” who “may use your personal information to help Yahoo communicate with you about offers from Yahoo and our marketing partners”.

Many people are now investing in software which keeps their search histories private, but as fast as new software is developed new cookies are baked to get around these safeguards. A better approach is to be disciplined about what you search for and be disciplined on what you think about. Spend your energy focussing on being the best YOU possible. Do not be distracted by trivia, gossip or reading about the make-believe lives of celebrities.