by Dave Boehi
What can you learn about the state of many marriages today from Google's most popular searches?
Sadly, quite a bit.
To see for yourself, go to the homepage for Google and type in "My husband." Google's "auto complete" function will then provide you with a number of ways to complete that phrase, based on its most popular searches. Here's what came up on my browser:
My husband...
...is annoying
...hates me
...doesn't love me
...is a jerk
...ignores me
...cheated on me
...is an alcoholic
Type in "My marriage" and here's what happens with the Google auto complete function:
My marriage...
...is falling apart
...is in trouble
...is over
...is failing
...was a mistake
Pretty sobering.
I can't take credit for this idea. A colleague here at FamilyLife recently sent me an interesting blog post by Eyder Paralta on National Public Radio's website. "I once heard Andreas Weigend--former chief scientist for Amazon--say that Internet searches reveal our most secret desires," Paralta wrote. Taking his cue from another blogger, Paralta typed "How can I get my wife" into Google and the following suggested phrases appeared:
...to love me again
...in the mood
...to trust me again.
Here was a similar search:
How can I get my husband...
...to fall in love with me again
...to be more affectionate
...to help around the house
...to want me
...to be more romantic
...back
This is just one piece of the picture of American marriage. But it's enough to show once again that a lot of people are looking for help in their marriages and families. It's a tremendous opportunity to provide the answers found in a relationship with God and in the plan He provides in the Scriptures.
Stumble It!
