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AUSTIN, Texas - The Washington, DC-based non-profit Pew Internet and American Life Project released a  study Sunday showing that twice as many adult United States Internet users have searched for information about themselves using a Web search engine in 2006 than did so in 2002, with 47 percent using search engines to locate information about friends, family and co-workers. Nearly Half of U.S. Adults Track Digital Footprints The study, "Digital Footprints: Online identity management and search in the age of transparency," shows that nearly half of U.S. Internet users have used either search leader Google, Yahoo, Ask.com or another search engine to locate information about themselves, sometimes called a vanity search, more than twice the 22 percent of people doing so on the Web five years ago. Pew senior research specialist Mary Madden, who was one of four authors of the study, expected to find even more people using search engines to check up on their own digital footprint. "Yes it's doubled, but it's still the case that there's a big chunk of Internet users who have never done this simple act of plugging their name with search engines," said Madden, who was surprised by the results. "Certainly awareness has increased, but I don't know it's necessarily kept pace with the amount of content we post about ourselves or what others post about us," she said in a recent Associated Press article. The study of 1,623 Internet users was conducted by telephone between November 30 and December 30, 2006, and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percent. Pew Study Shows Adults Increasingly Search For Themselves Online While more people are searching for information about themselves online, 60 percent aren't worried about the amount of personal information online, according to the Pew study, which also found that the people most likely to search for information about themselves using a search engine include people under 50, those making more money and those with greater education, on some occasions because occupations increasingly expect a certain degree of employee Web presence. The study found that more people, 53 percent, use search engines to look up information about acquaintances including neighbors, co-workers and relatives than to check for information about themselves online, with 36 percent of searches conducted to find long lost friends. There were no significant differences between genders when it came to the likelihood of searching for information about oneself online, the study found, however women showed a slightly higher frequency of using search engines to research their romantic partners than the nine percent overall figure. The survey showed than men, on the other hand, were more likely to look up an acquaintance online. Increased Scope of Searches Most of the searches conducted on acquaintances were to find basic contact information, however a third of those searching for people they know have attempted to gather public record information such as legal, bankruptcy or divorce records. The Pew study also found that roughly a third of those searching for information about people they know have specifically sought out their photographs online. Although the number of Web users who have taken it upon themselves to pay attention to their online information is approaching the 50 percent mark,  about 75 percent admit that they have only done so once or twice and not regularly, according to the study, which also found that those who do search for information about themselves online generally see what personal data they find on the Web as being accurate. A small amount, less than five percent, found information about themselves online that they felt was inaccurate or embarrassing. Teens More Secretive on Social Networking Sites In a surprise contradicting conventional notions about teenagers, the Pew study found that on social networking Web sites such as leaders MySpace and Facebook, teens and not adults were the most likely to take advantage of security protection options limiting access to their personal profiles. Madden sees the influence of parents and teachers stressing online privacy safeguards as playing a role in this study result. "Teens are more comfortable with the applications in some ways, [however] I also think they have their parents and teachers telling them to be very careful about what they post and who they share it with," Madden said. The survey results show how an increasing number of people are sharing personal information online, whether cell phone numbers on social networking sites, family photographs on photo-sharing site Flickr, or personal and sometimes embarrassing video clips on video sharing site YouTube, as well as how only 38 percent of people have taken steps to control their online identity. 11 percent of those surveyed had used search engines to look for information about potential employees or co-workers. More Digital Footprints Than Ever The survey points out that placing personal information online makes people "not only findable, but also knowable," and that the digital footprints left on the Web "often stick around long after the tide has gone out." The report released yesterday is based on Pew's findings of what it deems a "representative, random-digit-dial daily tracking survey" dealing with how American's 18 and over use the Internet. The report groups people into four categories of varying concern for their online footprints:  | Confident Creatives: | 17 percent | | | Concerned and Careful: | 21 percent | | | Worried by the Wayside: | 18 percent | | | Unfazed and Inactive: | 43 percent | Members of the first and smallest of the four groups, most often including young adults, were found to spend little time worrying about the availability of their personal information online and to actively participate in online activities, however still taking steps to limit some of their online information. Those in the second group, which include one in five online adults, are concerned about their personal information online, and take proactive steps to limit what personal information they place online. Members of the third group expressed some anxiousness over the amount of personal information about them found online, but did not actively limit placing such information online. The final and by far the largest group includes people who "neither worry about their personal information nor take steps to limit the amount of information that can be found out about them online," the report shows. Those in the "confident creatives" group were the most likely to have created a social networking profile, with 36 percent having done so, while only 10 percent of those in the "worried by the wayside" group had done so. Future Changes The Pew survey and subsequent report show that more people are aware of their Internet identities than they were five years ago, and that there is a great deal of room for improvement when it comes to taking an active part in managing personal information online. The study concludes by mentioning that several companies and conferences exist that specialize in online reputation management. The recent WebmasterWorld PubCon conference in Las Vegas showcased several sessions touching on the practice of online reputation management, an area the Pew study shows is apt to receive a great deal of new attention in the coming years. Related Links:
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