For a few years now, Google has had an idiotic feature by which a user can see “trending searches.”

In case you have not been paying attention, “trending searches” are search terms or strings that are very popular with the masses. I don’t know how Google determines this (frame of time, country of origin, etc.) but I do know that Google records every search everyone ever makes in the search engine. So these trending searches somehow compile this for display, from all the billions of searches being executed every day.

Presumably, Google assumes that users will see these and think to themselves “Hey, everybody is searching for information on third round draw carabao cup, so maybe I should too.”

This is the twenty-first century equivalent of herd behavior, people madly rushing about (virtually, of course) trying to get to the next great thing, and beat others to it in the process. It is mindless behavior, mob mentality.

And it is of course an extension of Google’s autocomplete feature, where it suggests searches based on what you begin to type in the search box. These are searches that, according to Google, “have been typed previously by Google users or appear on the web.”

Evidently, Amazon now also thinks this is a great idea and is using it. Amazon, of course, logs every search everyone ever makes on their platform too.

I don’t know how successful this feature is, but with Google it cannot be turned off. (Apparently, you used to be able to turn it off but I don’t see that option now.)

Believe me, I would if I could.

Because I will never click on a trending search. Why? Because I just don’t care. I don’t care about what searches other people using, and I don’t care about that for which they are searching. Why should I? They are not me, and I am not them.

I am myself, and I’m reasonably self-aware. Other people’s trending searches will have miniscule relevance to my life. I would think the same is true for most other people.

And yet here we are.