西部落：点击什么,你就是什么（在线收听）

You are what you click 点击什么,你就是什么

In the past, you are what you eat, but in the 21st century, you are, actually, what you click.

Hello I'm Elizabeth Vargas and this is 2020 In Touch.

You know the old adage "you are what you eat", well, for the 21st century some say you are what you click.

Today if you wanna know anything from the meaning of life to the location of the nearest Starbucks to who dang the song, that knowledge is only a click away.

But are there other mysteries hidden in that unassuming internet search box? In his new book "Click", Bill Tancer says he's learned a lot about who we are by examining what we search.

It's an insight that we have into ourselves that we haven't had before. Whether you're looking for a new car or searching the best way to break up with you boyfriend, everything you type in this box is saved by your search engine. Then sold anonymously to companies like Bill Tancers, his research is based on searches made by 10 million internet users in the US. Can you read anything into that or it’s just a sort of a fun stuff to know?

The bottom line is that there really is some important nugget in terms of who we are and where we're going. But the most significant difference Tancer sees in internet searching is how are relationship with computers is changing becoming more intimate?

They looked at the very early days of search engines, we used them mostly as utility, just to get us that piece of information we're looking for. But what our data is telling us is that people are using search engines as things like a confidante, a place to get information where you don't wanna be judged, it's just about asking the questions. Perhaps a question we might be too embarrassed to ask,, even our own doctors or spouses or anything else.

Yeah.

We hope you'll watch 2020 on the air every Friday night at 10 o'clock, 9 o'clock central. And keep stopping by online for our daily webcast, and previews of our upcoming stories. I'm Elizabeth Vargas, for all of us at 2020, we're in touch, so you'll be in touch.