As technology gets more and more powerful, the average person begins to rely on it to make their day-to-day lives easier. Before, it was uncommon for people to have friends in the next city over -- but now, it's possible to have close friends who live thousands of miles across the globe! The internet makes it possible to people search in so many different ways, so it's now more unlikely for people to NOT know residents of other countries.
Even employers are doing people searches these days. Using one's preferred search engine of choice is sometimes the best way to get a good idea on how to find people in the usa and if a prospective hire has done anything noteworthy or perhaps felonious. With social media becoming such a hit with much of the known world, who knows what kind of information can come up when a people search is done on even the most quiet of people! On dating websites, it's not a bad idea to do a people search on potential partners. It isn't uncommon for a person to use the same username on multiple websites, so firing up Google or Bing would be advantageous before going out with a stranger -- especially if there is a potential for the person to be a bad match in a way they aren't admitting to on their dating profile.
Sometimes people searches are performed to reconnect with someone who had previously been important in someone's life: a parent, a sibling, a best friend from grade school, or even a high school crush. It's so easy to search a name and find out what someone is up to, and perhaps how to rekindle that connection, whether platonic or otherwise. But if the average person can do a people search on anyone they know or which to know, that means anyone can be doing that same people search on the average person as well.
Keeping in mind what could be out on the internet under your name is important, since it's impossible to tell what kind of problems could arise in the future. Those photos from a friend's alcohol-fueled bachelor party? A thoughtless Facebook status commenting very bluntly on your current boss's managing abilities? These could lose even the most capable and well-respected of people their jobs, relationships, and potential for promotions or new partners. People searches are helpful in most cases, and so easy -- but without proper care, people searches can ruin what appears to be a perfectly good thing in someone's life.
