Have you ever wondered what people search for on the Internet? Well, wonder no more. Since 2001, Yahoo has been adding up the most popular searches each year. This year, about 631 million people came together and produced billions of searches. If nothing else, these tallies give an enlightening look into the mindset of our culture. So, what is our culture most interested in? Take a look at the top ten searches of 2010:
- BP Oil Spill.
- World Cup.
- Miley Cyrus.
- Kim Kardashian.
- Lady Gaga.
- iPhone.
- Megan Fox.
- Justin Bieber.
- American Idol.
- Britney Spears.
There are a couple observations to draw from this list. First of all, according to Yahoo, this is the first time a news story has taken the Number 1 spot. In years past, the Number 1 spot has been occupied by Brittney Spears (several times), American Idol, Kazaa (a music download service), and others.
Second, look again at what this list is mostly comprised of. Five out of the top ten are women. Beyond this, seven out of the top ten are related to either music and/or women. If this does not say something about our society then what does? Our culture has a laser-like focus on women and music.
Remember, this is only the top ten. What would happen if we took a look at the top fifty or top one hundred? Would we ever come across something spiritually significant? It would not be a huge leap to assume there would be many other searches about music, women, technology, and sports.
While none of these are inherently sinful, these results should throw up a big caution flag. Pop culture symbols and celebrities like Miley Cyrus, Kim Kardashian, Lady Gaga, Megan Fox, and Britney Spears have become sex icons and the very definition of worldliness. Now, even American Idol is sending strong worldly messages about homosexuality by having gay contestants and a gay judge. Regardless of whether boys/men or girls/women are conducting these searches, they are being exposed to the worldliness of our culture. With the exception of major world events like the BP catastrophe and the World Cup, it seems fair to conclude that our culture is about women, music, and technology. If we are not careful, we can get sucked into these in ungodly ways.
The Bible delivers some very powerful words on this topic: “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. The world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God lives forever” (1 John 2:15-17). Looking at the top ten list, our world is truly comprised of “lusts of the flesh, lusts of the eyes, and the boastful pride of life.” Let’s be ever so careful with what we engage in, and even more so with our children and teens. These topics generate more pull on our younger ones every day. Let’s take this list to heart and remember that we are to be in this world, but not of this world (Romans 12:2; John 15:18-19). “This world is passing away,” therefore, let’s focus on the things of eternal importance.
Source: http://yearinreview.yahoo.com/2010/us_top_10_searches#us_top_10_searches
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