The internet saved my life.
Though they seem to tout the wonders of the medium with less frequency than couples who have found true love this way, a rather large number of confessions to the wonders of search engines can be found - if we can figure out what to look for. Probably the best collection of these confessions can be found on the Google site itself. On this particular page (and an additional page linked to it) Google posts stories by users that focus on how a Google search was a pivotal event in their lives. Sometimes it's little more than a swift but effective search for some software, or for an answer to a computer problem. But sometimes the search plays a very central role in people's lives - the orphan who has found his or her father, or the person having a heart attack:
I just wanted to let you know that Google may well have saved my life. My sons and I were walking home from having eaten out. A half block from my house, I felt this pressure building in my chest. Immediately, I thought, 'heart attack' and ran through how I'd been feeling that the day (I had been nauseated). My first thought was, 'confirm suspicions,' and immediately, upon arriving home, I went to google and typed in 'heart attack.' I kept thinking, 'you only have minutes...' I found a site that listed symptoms. Indeed, I was having a heart attack. I was at the Albany fire station within minutes. Five baby aspirin later, and a few squirts of nitro and I was in the ambulance on my way to the hospital. The good news is, I have no residual damage. My heart is back to normal. Thank you for providing the Google search engine. I'm sure my recovery was complete because of the speed within which I was able to get help.
Of course it would make sense to assume (I hope) that in a situation such as this very few people are going to go online and look up "heart attack symptoms" instead of dialing 911. Even someone such as me who strives to integrate the internet into all aspects of our lives would urge someone to abandon the search and simply call a doctor, quick.
Though health reasons seem to dominate the ways in which people feel they've been saved, there are others - some that seem to make sense, and others that seem to highly exaggerate what being saved, or needing to be saved, might mean.
Having noted that, perhaps we should also note that there are some circumstances in which refraining from using the web may be what saves a life.
Go to: I search, therefore I am?