I don't really have an answer to that, although in fact I wish I did. Google, and the internet more generally, gives us plenty of things to worry about. And it is then possible to share and thereby magnify those worries with millions of other unsuspecting neurotics. I proudly count myself amongst their number.
Take this as an example: I realised today that I had bought an airline ticket for M (female) but on the application I put down 'Mr'. Panic set in immediately. In this age of terrorism, I imagined, they won't let her fly if the on-line booking does not match her passport. Ryan Air charge £110 to change this error; the flight cost £30 in the first place. Anyway, I do what most folk do in 2012 and googled (verb) the problem. Thank goodness... I was not alone as hundreds do the same thing and Ryan Air does not do anything about it; gender doesn't matter as long as the name is correct. Hard to believe that Ryan Air have missed this chance to make some more money. So my Google search brought comfort on this occasion.
A further example: I am planning a cycle north of Rochdale and I googled cycle routes in that area. Tales of dangerous roads and roundabouts the size of Wales were aplenty. Lots to worry about there; nevertheless, I used Google maps and that little man that walks the actual route. So on my computer screen I did a few practice runs at one of the aforementioned roundabouts and did it safely on each occasion. Cheers Google!
However, if you have something wrong with you it might be better to avoid the temptation to google the symptoms. A Google search on 'rash' led my son to believe he had a whole range of diseases, all of which were life-threatening.
Google is here to stay, but my advice is to use with care as it can be bad for your mental health. I wonder if I should look that up on Google? I will.
Love your comment about Ryan Air missing a trick in something to charge for!
ReplyDelete