The Dumbing Down of Search Engines

Several recent studies (http://tinyurl.com/3hhvv2u) have shown that, although the under 25 age range has grown up with computing technology and are native users of online tools from before many can even walk, this doesn’t equate to knowing how to use those same technologies for actual work. In short, they are having to learn how to use their gadgets as tools instead of toys. Whereas older tech-savvy users have long adopted these technologies with a goal of productivity.

The younger market is, of course, the primary target for most technology companies, so engineers and developers have long aimed to make computers and programs more user friendly, but unfortunately, by making search engines think like humans, they are basically just dumbing down the systems.

Yes, there are other search functions in Google and an advanced search page, but Google’s abandonment of the standard advanced search methodology used across all search engines for 18 years is the prime example.The developers didn’t even leave it in as an option. Which means that users will either have to learn multiple search techniques for every different search engine they use, or as Google may be hoping, the users will grow used to only the Google way, relying only upon the single search engine.

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Isaac M. O'Bannon is the chief editor for CPA Practice Advisor. He joined the publication in 2002, after serving in roles in technology consulting and public relations. He served in the U.S. Navy as a Construction Equipment Operator while a Seabee, deploying to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Puerto Rico and Okinawa during the 1990s.