Could you imagine life without Google? I couldn’t. As odd as that may sound, if you really think about it, Google solves so many problems on a daily basis. When your professor asks, how many miles did the first plane fly? You ask Google. When you want to find a great hotel for your spring break getaway, you ask Google. When you can’t remember the formula for the volume of a cylinder, you ask Google. Through being an avid Google searcher, I learned that this website does not only answer my questions but also brings forth questions that I never even thought to ask.
I’m sure that you noticed, as you being to quickly punch in a question or key phrase into the search bar, Google instantly starts guessing what you are about ask. But have you ever taken the time to read these guesses? Just the suggestions alone raise a question before you get to ask one. Let’s look at two categories: college girls and race.
Why are college girls…?
As a young woman in college, I’d like to think of myself as a strong-minded, independent, hard-working, intelligent female. But these adjectives are not what most people think about me—or at least according to the most popular searches on Google. I typed in four words, “why are college girls” and immediately I received back four disappointing guesses “so immature”, “so shallow”, “so dumb” and “so annoying.” Wow. This is what America thinks of me. I am in college, stressing over every assignment, staying up until I collapse face down on my keyboard and studying fervently only to be known as immature, shallow, dumb, annoying girl. This, of course, is an extreme way to think. Still, I find it unsettling to realize that stereotypes are an avid part of our culture. As a society, we have made it a habit to shove a very large number of people into one small category based on narrow opinions.
When I think of someone’s nationality no single word comes to mind. It is so unfair, to limit an entire race of people to one diminutive perception. Still, these generalizations run rampant in our culture and most of these connotations are rooted deep within the past. I fear that we as a culture may never be able to escape this way of thinking.
Why are white girls…?
Once I realized Google saved the most popular questions, I took it upon myself to see what a vast majority of people thought to be true about different races. And again the answers caught me by a surprise: “so fake”, “so easy”, “so attractive” and “more attractive.”
Why are black girls…?
As an young African-American girl, I found myself startled by what popped up on my screen. Did I know these stereotypes existed? Of course. But I never realized how prevalent they were until my Google searching frenzy. Thousands of people believe that my African-American female peers are “so annoying”, “so sassy”, have hair that is “so nappy” and are “so confident”. In the midst of so many negative comments you would think a compliment would be welcomed, however it was simply drowned out by the negativity.
Why are Asian girls…?
This search finally generated some answers that steered away from typical stereotypes. As usual, I got four suggestions: why are Asian girls so “attracted to me”, “so weird”, “so attractive” and have “voices so high”. The first one makes me chuckle. The thought that many people feel that Asian girls are attracted to them illustrates a sort of overarching level of confidence in our society.
All in all there was a consistency amongst every question—stereotypes. So next time you use the Google search bar, be sure to read the suggestions, they just might bring light to a situation that was hiding in darkness.
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