esrosedotblog

I like when researchers make novel uses of pedestrian data.

Such is the case in this NYT think piece.

Searching for Sex.

The writer compiled easily available data from Google and drew a few conclusions about what is on our minds.

While I am not sure of this, I think that it is all heterosexual data but, as it happens, almost all the date could apply to gay men as well.

If you do not feel like reading the whole thing, check this out from the writer.

Just about every study I have done relying on Google searches made me feel worse about the world. Huge numbers of people are racist and sexist; far too many children suffer from unreported abuse. But after studying the new data on sex, I actually feel better. This data makes me feel less lonely. In my previous studies of Google data, I had found the viciousness that humans often hide. But this time around, I have seen our hidden insecurities. Men and women are united in this insecurity and confusion.

Google also gives us legitimate reasons to worry less than we do. Many of our deepest fears about how our sexual partners perceive us are unjustified. Alone, at their computers, with no incentive to lie, partners reveal themselves to be fairly nonsuperficial and forgiving. In fact, we are all so busy judging our own bodies that there is little energy left over to judge other people’s.

Labels: sex