Who lives next door? One in five Swiss spies on their neighbors on the Internet
A recent study by Immowelt.ch shows that 20 percent of Swiss people have searched the Internet for information about their neighbors at some point.
Is the couple above me married? Where is the family in the house next door on vacation? What job does the woman on the first floor have? Many Swiss people find the private lives of their neighbors fascinating. One in five Swiss people are particularly curious and even search the Internet for information about the person next door. This is the result of a representative study by immowelt.ch, one of the most popular real estate portals in Switzerland. Traditional search engines are particularly popular for research. Most of the curious Swiss (83 percent) stated that they search for their neighbors via Google, Bing or Yahoo. Social networks are also used in particular. On Facebook (56%) and Instagram (16%), curious Swiss people find private data such as date of birth, relationship status or vacation photos - provided the neighbor's profile is public. In professional networks (29%) such as LinkedIn or Xing, searchers come across information about their career and current job. Only dating apps such as Tinder are not used by the Swiss for research. It seems that interest in neighbors doesn't go that far after all.
However, the majority of Swiss people do not believe in spying on their neighbors. 60 percent believe that their neighbors' lives are none of their business and therefore do not search the Internet. A further 20 percent are simply not interested in their neighbor's life.
There are major differences in the comparison between Swiss people who own their own property and those who rent. Property owners are more interested in the lives of their neighbors than tenants. While 24% of property owners look for information about the people next door to them, only 17% of those living in rented accommodation do so. As home buyers often buy a property for life, a good neighborhood is more important to them than to tenants. Many of them only spend a short period of their lives in the same apartment and move more often.
In addition to homeowners, high-income earners in particular want to know who their neighbors really are. 25 percent of respondents with high incomes have already searched for information about other residents. Among low-income earners, the figure was only 13 percent. Here too, the fact that higher earners often live in property and want to know who their neighbors are probably plays a role.
Have you ever searched the Internet for information about your neighbor?
- No, the lives of my neighbors are none of my business: 60 percent
- No, I'm not interested in my neighbors: 20 percent
- Yes, I want to know who I live next door to: 20 percent
Which sites/platforms did you use for this?
(Subset: only those who have already searched for information about their neighbors; multiple answers possible)
- Search engine (e.g. Google, Bing, Yahoo): 83 percent
- Facebook: 56 percent
- Professional network (e.g. LinkedIn, Xing): 29 percent
- Instagram: 16 percent
- Special people search engine: 16 percent
- Dating apps (for example Tinder): 0 percent
