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Sexual information seeking on web search engines
Amanda Spink1, Andrew Koricich, B J Jansen
1School of Information Sciences, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 15260, USA. aspink@sis.pitt.edu
Summary
Analyzing 2001 search engine data reveals differences in how users sought sexual information online. Search term choices and session duration varied between Alta Vista and AlltheWeb.com users.
Area of Science:
- Information Science
- Human-Computer Interaction
- Internet Studies
Background:
- Sexual information seeking is a significant aspect of human information behavior.
- Internet use offers diverse channels for accessing sexual content, including websites and search engines.
Purpose of the Study:
- To qualitatively analyze user search queries for sexual information.
- To compare sexual information-seeking behaviors between Alta Vista and AlltheWeb.com users.
Main Methods:
- Qualitative analysis of 1,025,910 web user queries from Alta Vista and AlltheWeb.com logs in 2001.
- Comparison of search session duration, query outcomes, and search term selection.
Main Results:
- Significant differences were observed in session duration between the two search engines.
- User choices in search terms for sexual content varied across Alta Vista and AlltheWeb.com.
- Discrepancies in query outcomes were noted between the platforms.
Conclusions:
- Understanding search engine user behavior provides valuable insights for web users and content providers.
- Differences in search engine design and algorithms may influence sexual information seeking patterns.