What I Found When I Googled Myself Was Terrifying
The shocking truth I discovered.
Why do we press harder on the remote control when we know the batteries are weak? Have you ever had such zany questions pop into your mind?
Where do you go to calm your boggled brain?
If you are thinking of spilling the quirky contents of your mind to people, they will never treat you again.
So, we all will simply open Google, won’t we?
We all Google countless recipes, information, ideas, and everything we don’t know or want to learn more about. But have you ever Googled yourself?
Although we know ourselves far better than Google, we still do it.
I don’t know why, but it’s satisfying!
If you have yet to try it, have a go! I hope it won’t be as scary to you as it was for me.
So, the other night, I searched for my name on Google. It was unexpected, and I’m unsure how my thoughts led me there. When I Googled myself:
“5,540,000 results”
It’s quite something; Google managed to find 5 million results about me!
Oops, oodles of namesakes! I scrolled down.
I might have gotten a second life as a Ph.D. health professional. But thank God, I wasn’t sharing my name with any witless robber or a wanted criminal.
I got a few results of the ‘original’ me on the first page. You know the best part?
When I spotted my name next to my most-loved piece, I was inching closer to becoming known for my writing.
Overall, the first two pages were pretty harmless, with my medium write-ups, a couple of social media profiles, a mention in my university’s newsletter, and some long-forgotten blog comments.
But as I was creeping deeper, things were getting darker.
And then what I found wigged me out completely.
Gosh! It scared me.
A horrible picture of some guy awkwardly yawning popped up to me. I couldn’t resist a sly, mocking smile and moved on.
I went back to see the picture again. As I looked closely at the image, a distinct “I’ve seen you somewhere before” vibe kicked in.
What the hell! That’s me.
At that moment, I strongly remembered that guy, my rascal old friend, who still hadn’t deleted that photo for what I begged him for months.
I’ll take care of that dude in due time.
I tried to calm down, preparing myself to see what other mess I had created years before. A few more photos of me, unexpected candid shots, and embarrassing moments were preserved there for eternity.
I saw them on different social media platforms I’d completely forgotten about.
I hate to recall some of my sheepish comments and posts from years ago that no longer reflect who I am today.
Although I succeeded in removing most of those horrible marks I had left on the internet, another episode of begging my friend to delete those photos has yet to start again after years.
Google had preserved my chaotic mess with exacting care.
This bittersweet experience opened my eyes to how the internet can cling to our past, often against our will.
Undoubtedly, Googling yourself can be a wake-up call to curate your online presence consciously. Most of what appears when someone googles your name is in your hands.
Let it be a chance to narrate your original story instead of creating a mess that might tarnish your current reputation down the road.