You Probably Think This Search Is About You: Survey Says 56% Of Internet Users “Google” Themselves

To mark Google’s 15th birthday, the PEW Research Center released a survey conducted between April and May of this year to evaluate the number of people who Google themselves. According to the report, 56 percent of Internet users have used Google or another search engine to search on their own name, a 22 percent increase since the study was conducted in 2001.

Of course, with the rise of social media sites, the need to monitor online reputations, and the number of careers that are directly linked to a person’s online presence, vanity isn’t the only catalyst prompting people to type their name into a search bar.

Pew Research notes that while self-searches have increased more than 20 percent in the last twelve years, there has been little change since 2009 when the number of Internet users searching on their own name topped at 57 percent.

Pew Research claims that the number of people taking advantage of other reputation-related websites or Internet services has increased by 4 percent during the last four years, growing from 20 percent in 2009 to 24 percent this year.

The study found that men are more likely than women to search on their own name, as well as Internet users with higher levels of education and household incomes. When evaluating age demographics of self-searches, 18 to 29 year olds are the most active, with Internet users under the age of 50 more likely to Google themselves than adults over 50.