Survey Says Internet Users Confuse Search Results, Ads

irishdaze writes "ABC News is reporting that apparently only 18% of adult web searchers can tell the difference between actual search results and advertisements. In addition to this astounding conclusion, the Pew Internet and American Life Project's survey of 2,200 adults (only 1,399 of which are actual internet users, mind you) also indicates that 92% of web searchers feel they are confident in their own searching abilities."

Comments

How could anyone be confused?

[Anonymous Coward]

Google puts the search results in colored boxes, and the ads are all in black and white.

Re:How could anyone be confused?

[Knights who say 'INT]

The same people who type "literally" when they mean "littered"?

Re:How could anyone be confused?

[Junior J. Junior III]

I got called for this poll, I think. I was asked "Do you know what's the difference between search results and an advertisement?" I said "No" but the guy never delivered the punchline, so after a few days of thinking about it I figured it must have been a poll.

Nothing for you to see here. Please move along.

[froggero1]

It may also have to do with the fact that when these adults are surfing the pron, they dont really care what's an ad or a website, so long as it has boobs

Survey Says...

[ackthpt]

"ABC News is reporting that apparently only 18% of adult web searchers can tell the difference between actual search results and advertisements.

<Homer>Woo hoo! Finally above average! Take that Marilyn vos Savant!</Homer>

92% of web searchers feel they are confident in their own searching abilities.

Other useful stats:

38% believe Prince Magumbe Obada of Nigeria has $14,000,000 to share with them

56% believe that penis pills really work.

29% believe they have just updated their PayPal or bank account safely and securely

91% believe all that harddrive activity and bandwidth usage is Microsoft Windows ensuring their computer is safe and secure

44% believe the moon is still made of green cheese and the landings were staged in a warehouse in El Segundo

76% believe everything they read on the internet, which doesn't challenge their moral values, is true, the rest is all crap

Re:Survey Says...

[aslate]

"What do you mean "Is the cable plugged in?" of course it is. Oh, wait..."
*Phone goes dead*

Just remember

[Anonymous Coward]

People are dumb, individuals are smart.

Because

[American AC in Paris]

This shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. People don't pay that much attention to to what they are reading.

For example, re-read this post. Carefully.

Re:Because

[supergiovane]

Sorry, I don't understand. Exactly, what's wrong with with your post?

Re:Because

[bcattwoo]

Reading slashdot while noticing every grammar and spelling error would be a painful exercise indeed.

Re:Because

[rah1420]

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at an Elingsh uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht frist and lsat ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do not raed ervey lteter by itslef but the wrod as a wlohe.

you insensitive clod !

[Anonymous Coward]

you can afford a colour monitor. the rest of us see all black-and-white on google. Not everyone can afford a colour monitor, Mr "I have Color Screen and my Keyboard has a Shift Key: Nyaaa!".

Re:you insensitive clod !

[Anonymous Coward]

Everything is shades of green to me.

Re:you insensitive clod !

[Anonymous Coward]

You damn kids and your keyboards and monitors... In my day, we had switches and lights, and if we were really lucky a teletype, and we were happy with that goddammit...

Where's my shaking stick?

Re:you insensitive clod !

[MightyMartian]

Well, when I was a kid, all we had was gears and sprockets. I mean, how the hell do you tell color on gears and sprockets? Loading a 1k web page took the better part of a week and forty tons of coal. Then some f*cker invented Javascript.

Re:you insensitive clod !

[Wes Janson]

In return for sharp 200dpi text I'd gladly leave behind cartoonish GUI "features" and even make do with greyscale pr0ns.

Maybe *YOU* would.. *shudder*

Freak! Monochromatophile! Prevert!

Re:Quite true.

[govtcheez]

I feel like I'm watching one of those shittacular closed-circuit news shows produced by high schoolers, for highschoolers.

"Oh my god, and in the news today, CmdrTaco reposted a story about Linux and I saw Hemos cheating on his girlfriend after third period! What a total slut! OK, now here's CowboyNeal with today's lunch menu!"

Re:Survey Says Irishdaze Confused By Math

[grub]

Yeah but Michael accepted the story. "irishdaze" is probably one of Roland Piquepalle's nom de plumes...

There's rumors on the internets..

[GillBates0]

...that search results are confusing!!!1!!

Any1 other AOLer hear bout this?!! message me if you know!

k THX BYE

Re:Survey Says Irishdaze Confused By Math

[Anonymous Coward]

Yeah but the survey went:

Are u on teh intarweb?

is google teh l337x0r?

A/S/L?

Is Micro$0ft teh ghey?

Re:Quite true.

[autophile]

I feel like I'm watching one of those shittacular closed-circuit news shows produced by high schoolers, for highschoolers.

Actually, I liked that show, "Animals Close-Up with a Wide-Angle Lens Wearing Hats".

--Rob

You think?

[dswensen]

Survey Says Internet Users Confuse Shit, Shinola

Survey Says Internet Users Confuse Ass, Hole in the Ground

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Survey Says Internet Users Unable to Find Own Head with Both Hands, Flashlight

Survey Says Internet Users Approximately as Smart as Submarine Screen Door, Rubber Crutch, Solar-Powered Flashlight