Your 20s are a tricky time. You have to start getting serious about responsibilities and your career, but at the same time, you’re still young and don’t have all of the answers yet. Which is why 20-something-year-olds often turn to Google for all of life’s answers. Here are some questions you may find yourself asking Google in your 20s:
1. “Herpes symptoms”
10th grade health class didn’t do a very good job of teaching us about the intricacies of STDs, like how even if a person is not displaying symptoms, their body is still shedding the virus and it’s possible to contract herpes type 2 even with a condom.
2. “What’s the difference between laundry detergent and fabric softener?”
I literally googled this at the dollar store the other day. It turns out that fabric softener is like conditioner for your clothes, the way laundry detergent is like shampoo.
3. “When do I stop using my parents health insurance?”
They say it’s all downhill once you reach 30, but I suspect it’ll be all downhill once I have to start paying for health insurance, which is actually at 26 years old.
4. “Which celebrities became famous later in life?”
Maybe the fact that you’re not as far ahead in your career as you’d like to be has you stressed to the point where you try to find role models who only achieved success later in their 20s or 30s, such as Tina Fey, Oprah Winfrey and J.K. Rowling.
5. “Which city should I live in?”
Maybe you’re looking to settle down in one place right after college or maybe you want to explore different cities before you find the right fit. Either way, Buzzfeed has a quiz ready for you.
6. “Diets to lose weight fast”
Working five days a week (especially in an office job) can make it really hard to find time to work out and eat right. You may find yourself googling this when you have an important event coming up, like a friend’s wedding.
7. “Losing hair at 24???”
So many factors contribute to hair loss, even for people in their 20s. As you continue googling more and more issues, you’ll find that the root of all adult problems seems to be stress.
8. “How many hours of sleep should I get?”
By now you should know how many hours of sleep you need to be able to function as a human being. But just because you’re functioning doesn’t mean that you’re getting enough sleep to stay healthy. Younger adults need about 7-9 hours of sleep per night.
9. “Does Retinol work?”
As mentioned in my article, “24 Things That Happen When You Turn 24” you may be finding deeper lines on your forehead or maybe your skin is just growing increasingly more sensitive to the sun and you’re finding sunspots. The point is, you’ve probably done more research on skin care products than you ever imagined you would.
10. “Cheap places to travel”
If you have wanderlust like I do but a bank account that can’t support it, you’ve definitely looked for some cheap travel deals on Groupon or EF College Break.
11. “Can I return something and buy it back with a coupon?”
My mom always warned me to never leave the house without a coupon, but sometimes I’m forgetful. Luckily, most retail stores will let you retroactively apply a coupon.
12. “Does it really matter where you go to college?”
Once you enter the adult world, you realize that the answer to this question is most definitely no (unless you’re trying to be a doctor or lawyer). All that matters is that you have some sort of degree (and sometimes that doesn’t even matter).
13. “When should I start planning for retirement?”
There are some people who start in their early 20s and stop at 35 and they already have hundreds of thousands of dollars set aside for retirement. I guess it’s never too early to start.
14. “Average number of sex partners”
Everyone gets a little insecure once in awhile about their number being too high or too low and it’s natural to be curious and wonder if you’re in a normal range.
15. “Good quotes for Instagram captions”
Everyone would be lying if they said they haven’t google searched this before. It’s okay, we can't be creative at all times.
16. “How much do YouTube stars make??”
This will probably blow your mind. For those of us in our 20s who didn’t grow up with our eyes attached to vloggers, it boggles our minds how people can get paid millions of dollars to do a makeup tutorial.
17. “Should I drop out of college?”
Maybe learning how much a YouTubers’ salary is leads you to ask this question.
18. “What’s a 401K?”
After asking Google this question a handful of times, I understand what it is, I just don’t get why it’s called a 401K.
19. “Where can I buy stamps?”
Can you get them at the grocery store or do you have to wait in that long ass line at the post office?
20. “W-9 vs. W-4”
Because tax stuff is confusing, no matter what age you are.
Don’t panic if you still turn to Google for every little question you have throughout the day. The perks of the internet means you have the world at your fingertips.
