Secrets We Tell Google: Research On Anonymous Search Results

There is no denying the fact that human subject research,  including survey research, is challenging. It is a daunting task to find the truth about human nature through traditional data-gathering methods, such as polls or surveys, when instead of choosing answers that are true, respondents answer questions in a manner that will be viewed favorably by others. As the Guardian states, “they want to look good, even though most surveys are anonymous”.

Known as social desirability bias, the tendency is of special concern in self-reports of personality, sexual behavior and intolerance in particular. But there is a way to find out more reliable information — it seems that people might tell search engines what they lie about in surveys.

The Guardian presents the findings of Seth Stephens-Davidowitz, a data scientist, who believes that “Google searches are the most important dataset ever collected on the human psyche”. Having examined mountains of data of anonymous search results, the author of “Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are” uncovered some surprising things about the prejudices, fears, and desires we’re hiding.

For example, there are twice as many search complaints about men refusing sex than women refusing sex. And “Is my husband gay?” occurs ten per cent more than “Is my husband cheating?”, eight times more than “Is my husband an alcoholic?” and 10 times more than “Is my husband depressed?".

Read the Guardian’s piece at the intersection of science, technology and sociology for more startling findings on homosexuality, body image, hate, prejudice and gender bias, all based on things we type into Google's search box.