3.3.4 Search engines dependency issues

At the first sight when using a search engine we are not thinking about all the issues which are coming out from them. We make our research and we get results from this and then we try the results one after the other until finding the one which fits the best our expectations.

The first main problem is that when addicted to a specific search engine which normally gave satisfaction the day when the result is not the one expected we may think that:

• The information is not displayed because the information searched does not exist;
• The request was not good enough, we should try with other keywords, this assumption is confirmed by Canadian and American surveys. Search users are sticking to their search engines;

Search engine dependency relevancy

In fact according to a British study (Harvest Digital. (2006). User attitudes to search.) search users are blaming themselves more than the search engine:

Search users blame themselves not the technology

The main issue to highlight is that people are so confident with some search engines that they will normally not look for alternatives or even consider that their favorite search engine can be wrong.