Facebook vs. Google: The Battle of Self Projection versus Who We Really Are | Big Think

Facebook vs. Google: The Battle of Self Projection versus Who We Really Are
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To know who someone really is, don't look at their Facebook wall—look at their Google Search data. This is off-limits information to most people (definitely for the best), but data scientist Seth Stephens-Davidowitz has analyzed what's behind that curtain. His findings echo what you may intuitively feel: skepticism over how incredible everyone's life looks on Facebook, compared to your own. He cautions people not to compare yourself to that rosy standard for a pretty simple reason: it's a bundle of lies and exaggerations. Facebook presents who we want to be, but Google Search knows who we really are. Davidowitz calls it a "revolutionary truth serum", one that reveals that on Facebook husbands are described as "amazing" and "so cute", but in the confessional booth of Google Search, they are "gay" "jerks". Ouch. What it boils down to is that bragging is lying, but searching for knowledge is truthful. That, and that Facebook and Google might be the best social experiments ever designed. Stephens-Davidowitz is the author of Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are.
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SETH STEPHENS-DAVIDOWITZ:

Seth Stephens-Davidowitz has used data from the internet, particularly Google searches, to get new insights into the human psyche. A book summarizing his research, Everybody Lies, was published in May 2017 by HarperCollins.

Seth has used Google searches to measure racism, self-induced abortion, depression, child abuse, hateful mobs, the science of humor, sexual preference, anxiety, son preference, and sexual insecurity, among many other topics.

He worked for one-and-a-half years as a data scientist at Google and is currently a contributing op-ed writer for the New York Times. He is designing and teaching a course about his research at The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, where he will be a visiting lecturer.

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TRANSCRIPT:

Seth Stephens-Davidowitz: Google, I think, is a revolutionary data set. I call it digital truth serum because people are so honest to it and they confess things that they might not confess to anybody else to that little white box on a search engine. Facebook is different. Facebook is digital 'brag to my friends about how good my life is' serum, where people try to make themselves look good on Facebook.

So if you compare two magazines, The Atlantic Monthly and the National Enquirer; The Atlantic Monthly is kind of an intellectual, highbrow magazine, with poetry and philosophy and political theory. And the National Enquirer is a lowbrow trashy magazine, with celebrity gossip and rumors and stuff like that. And on average the National Enquirer sells more copies than The Atlantic Monthly, but on Facebook The Atlantic Monthly is 45 times more popular than the National Enquirer because everybody wants their friends to think they’re reading The Atlantic Monthly. They don’t want their friends to think they’re reading the National Enquirer which makes them seem less impressive. And people exaggerate their financial situation. Circus Circus, a budget hotel in Las Vegas, holds about the same number of people as the Bellagio, a luxurious hotel in Vegas. But people are about three times more likely to check-in to the Bellagio than Circus Circus.

So I think on Facebook you get bombarded with these images: Oh, all my friends are staying at the Bellagio. Well, you know, about the same number of them are saying at Circus Circus, they may just not be posting that on Facebook. And I think it’s interesting to compare these two sources, Facebook and Google: Facebook where you’re showing off to your friends, Google where you’re just getting the information you need.

So one of the comparisons I talk about in the book is the ways people describe their husbands on the two sources. The top ways people complete the phrase 'My husband is...' on Facebook is: my husband is the best, my best friend, amazing, so cute and awesome.

[Drarjunmenon]

The fact that many people were disturbed by his presentation style and voice than actually listening to what he said shows exactly what is wrong with today's world.

[ericpatterson]

Your husband being gay or a jerk is a problem (well him being gay is a problem if you're a woman) so it makes sense that more people would be looking for information or online forums or whatever in that case. It may not have as much to do with honesty as just how the very different tools are used.

If I told you that giving someone a hammer and anonymity makes them more likely to use nails to build something, but when you give them a screwdriver and put them in public they use screws no one would say they're using screws because they're more expensive and they're showing off.

[coffeeanddavid]

I love these videos. They're short, informative and honest.

[fistoffries]

I thought that this was interesting, however, I think that it would be better to say its like comparing going to a high school reunion with bitching about your life with your friends.

People go to Facebook to put on a good face, but they tend to google out of frustration and or fear, those aren't necessarily more 'honest' frames of mind; they both have a bias.

[VIROBIN]

No.1 contender - "Foley Artist for Screeching Doors in Horror Movies"

[chestbuster]

F Facebook..worst thing to happen to average internet users ever. I've actually seen people using Facebook as a search engine to find information about hotels or event dates. Instead of looking up a company's own website (which ridiculously sometimes doesn't even exist anymore) I have seen people browsing posts made on some group to get information about products

[MikeClohset]

Curious how many have two Twitter accounts. One showing off or seeing their good side and another for their bad side.

[adrianmillard]

Who the f@#k is going to google how awesome their S/O is? Google and FB have different uses.

[yoooyoyooo]

0 useful comments so far ... its a really interesting point of view

[strwz]

So, is Google saving our personal searches so they can sell this personal and private information about us to the highest buyer??

[psychedelicdreamer]

Oh, very interesting! That puts a lot of stuff into perspective...

[frstyy]

This guys voice sounds like it's buffering

[aresmars]

Weird, 90% of my google searches are fact checking political nonsense on Facebook!

[jewsdontwanttobegassed]

Never use Google search. I recommend duckduckgo, but use anything but Google search.

[dieterlepad]

Your husband example isn’t really thought through. Why should I google “my husband is great”? I would only google negative things to which I need a solution. I don’t need a solution to a good husband. That way, by design, Google is way more negative than the reality. Just like Facebook is way more positive. I think the truth lies in between both networks.

[LoLeanderx]

Dude Facebook and Google serve two different purposes. I would not search on Google " My husband is awesome", because that's not a problem, while my husband being a jerk is and I'm *searching* for a solution. Posting on Facebook "My husband is great" makes perfect sense because I'm trying to make my parter feel good or I'm trying to brag or whatever. Posting problems on Facebook on the other hand does't solve anything, which is why I'd rather go to Google. I don't think somebody would post " My husband is great" when he's an actual jerk. They would just go to Google for solution. 🖓

[importantname]

im not interesting, im a just a consumer.

[JROtoons]

Wait until he adds in the comment section. lol He's in for a treat!

[zrrrrr]

Stop commenting on his voice... think about what he said.

[rizkyfarizanfiqri]

Iam seraching facebook on the google, and it worked... is anyone already know about it ?