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September 5, 2008 9:20:31 PM CDT

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To Thine Own Self Be Googled

Posted Dec 17, 07 5:23 AM CST in Technology,  Arts & Living 

(Newser) – More Americans are Googling themselves, friends and dates. A Pew study found that 47% of US adult Internet users have looked up themselves using the search engine, compared with 22% in 2002. The study found 53% Googled neighbors, colleagues, or dates—often checking bankruptcy and divorce proceedings, and other public records. Women are slightly more likely  to Google dates than men.

The results are lower than expected. "There's a big chunk of Internet users who have never done this simple act of plugging their name into search engines," said one researcher. "Certainly awareness has increased, but I don't know that it has necessarily kept pace with the amount of content we post about ourselves."

Source Associated Press

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The numbers of adult Internet users who have Googled themselves has more than doubled since 2002 from 22% to 47% (AP Photo Rene Tillman, File)   (Associated Press)
Ask.com CEO Jim Lanzone displays the look of the company's new search engine in the company's offices in Oakland, Calif., Friday, June 1, 2007. A study says the number of adult internet users in the...   (Associated Press)
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