I was at a beautiful dinner table the other day when a friend said something about not asking tiny, technical questions you can simply Google the answers to. It hit me then – Knowing when, what and how to Google is a superpower, an unfair advantage in disguise.

My Googling journey began when I got my first laptop in 3rd grade: it was a whole new world that unlocked.

“Is Oslo a city or a country?”

“How to make a friendship bracelet at home?”

“When is the Strawberry moon of 2012?”

Starting then, I have Googled everything. From Assignment answers and craft project ideas to puberty and how to ask a boy out. When I say I am a child raised by the Internet, I think Google has definitely been my god-parent. Here are a couple cents on how Google changed me for good.

1. Shortened my feedback loop of learning new things

I remember reading High School Zoology at 6 and Tolstoy at 10. This is not a flex. This was the only content accessible to me. Old textbooks from Uncles and Aunts, a small library that grandpa left behind. I relished it but I did not have much liberty over the content I consumed. Google changed the game here. If one morning I was curious about Hippos, I could Google 10 amazing facts and learn that they sweat pink. This autonomy and quick retrieval nurtured my inquisitiveness and motivated me to do more. 

2. Made me far more resourceful

They say there are no dumb questions. I do not beg but I differ. “So, how do I arrange these names in an alphabetical order or what is a ….?” in a 20-XX world IS A DUMB QUESTION. Just Google it. It’s initiative, presence of mind and simple respect for someone’s time + energy. Rule of thumb: Whatever lecture or meeting you’re in, keep a tab open. If the top 5 results don’t help, follow up. But don’t ask Google-able questions, they are lazy.  

3. A better knack for keywords

While the only transferable benefit I have observed in me has been that I can dig out the most accurate sticker/emoji responses in any text conversation, I think there must be more to it. I know that to pull up the right articles, I should be searching ‘Women open up on Safe Workplaces’ and not ‘What makes a workplace safe?’ I do not have words for this slight difference. Just intuition. (Intuition = Experience + Common sense)

And thus, I conclude my case in favour of learning how to Google. It empowers you with just the right information you need. And after you’ve spent a while with this magic thing, you’re a native and the world is at your disposal, really.

Go google something. 

Bye.