Surfing the web, or just sitting on the web?

 

Which search engine(s) do you use?  Do you look beyond the first page of results, or do you just look at the top few?

• Without even realizing it, I search the web too many times to count each day. Since there is a Google toolbar on the top of my web browser, I don’t even realize that I am searching for specific things because I am not actually going to the Google page to type in my keywords. So, essentially, Google is really the only search engine that I use. Many times, I do not have to look beyond the first page of results. This is because most of the time I am searching for a web site like Facebook or Twitter that is always the top hit. I am usually searching for a specific website rather than a keyword or piece of information. However, if I am, then I will look beyond the first page if the first page of results do not satisfy me. Whenever I am looking up information for an academic assignment, that is when I typically need to look beyond the first page. However, with the Lesley database filled with scholarly articles, I find that I don’t even use a search engine for a lot of assignments anymore.

 

Do you use other sites to find information? (for example, Wikipedia, YouTube, go directly to a specific url, the library…)

• I do often use other sites to find information, but I typically find them by searching for them on Google first. I’ll use my Google toolbar to type in a keyword, which I then find on Wikipedia or YouTube. If I know I want to go to one of these specific websites, I still search for them on Google first. I would say that aside from Facebook, Twitter, and my Lesley e-mail, I am usually searching for something that will be found on Wikipedia or YouTube. Other than that, I often use Google Images to see what different places or people (usually celebrities) look like.

 

Do you use friends to help you find information, or follow links that they have sent you?

• I definitely tend to click on links that my friends send me, which instigates my own searches. For instance, if someone Tweets or sends me a link to a YouTube video via Facebook, after I listen to the song they have sent me, I usually look on the side for another video to click on. If a really good song or funny video is sent to me, I usually keep referring back to these links to find them again, rather than searching for them myself. It is easier to make sure I am looking at the exact same link again. I also often find myself asking friends for information, even though I could Google it myself. Sometimes, especially when I don’t seem to understand something, they will Google it and explain it to me. Though I do like to surf the web quite a bit, I tend to grasp things better in a friend’s own words, and it’s funner to hear a story from a direct source than read it from a journalist. I also like to hear people’s opinions as they tell me about it, rather than just read the facts.

 

Why do you search for information (entertainment, school, job, just because, boredom…)? 

• I certainly search for information for all of these reasons. I search for songs on YouTube frequently for entertainment. I often scroll through Facebook and Twitter for hours to entertain myself by reading about what others are doing (which also eases boredom). I am constantly Googling what certain words mean for school that I don’t understand, and looking up articles for research papers. For my internship, I have to use Facebook and Google a lot to look up bands that I write articles about. I use Google to look up their Reverbnation and Bandcamp profiles, too. I definitely find myself surfing the web “just because” the majority of the time, too. I’ll be really busy and not even have time to be bored, won’t be looking up anything specific for school or work or entertainment, and won’t even be socializing with anyone online, yet am still online for a long period of time. Most of the time, I don’t have anything to look up and just sort of stare at the screen. Yet, I cannot put my computer away. It’s somehow comforting to have something in front of me at all times, whether I am using it or not. I think a lot of people from my generation have this issue. We often need to have a computer screen or cellphone handy 24/7 for comfort. As soon as I turn it off or put it away, I feel an instant disconnection from the outside world. I get anxious that I am missing out on something, or missing out on making plans with someone who is currently online. When I’m in the student center alone, I like to have a technological device in front of me to avoid making eye contact with random people. When I’m in class, I feel fidgety and bored if I am not holding something. I tend to feel awkward and not know what to do with my arms and hands, or where to look. I almost feel like no one can see me my if my laptop is open because it is hiding a portion of my body, even though I know that they can. So, if I feel the need to have my laptop open at all times, I tend to surf the web “just because”.

 

Do you think you know how to search for information effectively?

• Despite learning many techniques, I do not feel that I totally know how to effectively search for information. I can use the Lesley database to search for scholarly articles, or use Google to look up bands to write about for my internship, but when I can not find what I am looking for, I tend to not know what to do. I am definitely better than some other people that I know or attend school with, but I’m not the greatest expert. This also could be because most of the time I’m just searching around for random, unimportant things. It is also exhibits the way my generation can be very lazy and impatient. With new technologies, we expect to have answers to everything right away. So, if I can’t find something instantaneously online, I often give up.