To think is not too nosy?

If you have put it on the internet in any way, then it’s public information. Anyone can look it up at any time, and plenty of people will.

I google people all the time- I like to know who I’m dealing with (and a good start is ‘are they the type of fool who puts loads on the internet about themselves?’ People go up in my estimation if I can’t find much).

Its about as intrusive as knowing your neighbours address, that they shop at Asda and their kids go to St Mildred’s.

I'm with your DH but the example you have given goes beyond nosy, it's borderline stalking. They are strangers who you'd probably never see again, why do you need to go digging onto their business. It's not a nice trait

On consideration, it's not even about money is it. That's just the boring detail you look up. It's about 'being in the know', knowing more about them than they do about you - giving yourself some petty illusion of power or importance.

There have always been curtain twitchers. It's nothing new, special or interesting.

I agree with the majority of people that this is wierd, creepy and stalkerish.
Until I read this thread, I genuinely had no idea that some people behave like this.

If a house is sold in my street or the next street, I might look up the price because it would give me an idea of what my own house is currently worth.
It wouldn't cross my mind to look up that kind of information about a new and casual acquaintance.

If some tells me about a book they've read, film they've seen, something they heard about on the news, a place they went to on holiday etc and I knew little but thought it sounded interesting, I might go away and Google to find out more.

But that's finding out more about a topic that someone has shared.
It wouldn't cross my mind to be so nosy as to go away and find out all I could about the person who told me the information.

You sound unhealthily obsessed with money and not at all interested in people or ideas.

It reads as you viewing people as objects of financial interest only,

Why not focus on your own wealth creation, or happiness, instead?

That's completely different, the information about films/actors and the like is made available intentionally.

It's a world away from snooping on acquaintances/colleagues/randoms. The threat from OP earlier doesn't worry me as I don't maintain a real life online footprint but this thread is an eye-opener at how inappropriate some people are.

It's sounds very odd.
Reads as though you've got time on your hands but lack an interesting enough life of your own to fill it.
But hey, you do you, I guess.

It must be driven by envy / jealousy. What other reason would there be? Modern day version of keeping up with the Jones’s? Would they bother stalking the sweet old lady they briefly chatted to in Sainsburys? Of course not.

I can honestly say that it would never have occurred to me to look up the financial affairs of a random couple I'd met on holiday! Sorry OP but that's not normal. It doesn't matter if this info is in the public domain, it's still none of your business and nosy AF!

I remember a friend of mine telling me how much a mutual acquaintance had sold her house for - that's how I found out that rightmove lists this information. Until that point I hadn't realised that people feel entitled to look up other people's private business. I now know she's looked up mine

Googling a topic that sparks your interest is fine but when you are prying into strangers finances, that's just creepy.

I do this about authors/ films /famous people. I enjoy it

You see, I wouldn’t care at all. I know that information is on the Internet and that anyone can find it in seconds. It’s just a fact of life nowadays.

No I don't do that and would find it very intrusive if I found out someone had searched information about me at length.

I think there is a difference in being inquisitive and nosy. It's good to be inquisitive and want to enhance your learning about something. I often google when a subject comes up and I don't know the answer. it's how I learn 'general knowledge' things often.

Nosey, on the other hand is wanting to know more detail on something that is to do with another person's private business. I'm sorry OP, but what you described falls directly under the nosey heading. Absolutely none of your business to have done this and could even be classed as online stalking. Sorry!!

I would question why you do this?

Christ, how awful. I utterly despise nosy people.

You’re not on your own 🙋‍♀️

If something sparks my interest I will spend time looking it up. Eg. Was watching a film and then spent a few minutes seeing what else an actor had been in.

I may look to see if I can find their business, but going into finances, seeing how much their house sold for etc is perhaps a bit more Indepth than I would go.

I'm nosy op, but I'm not <that> nosy!

This has made me think of some mn threads of years and years ago, where someone claimed to be able to find the personal info of mnetters and pm it to them, first name address etc. A thread full of people going "do me"... I wonder if anyone else remembers, and if it was true?

I do know that everyone has more info online than most like to think.

I didn’t say it was the same thing. Just that lots of people do things that make no discernible different to their lives, all the time.

Exactly, the information is available in seconds!

Yes I do this sort of thing, I am extremely nosy. I don’t tell anyone anything I find out, would never discuss it with anyone. And I always forget a few days later.

A few years ago I would have thought this behaviour obscene, but it’s like a PP said - once you know you can and do it once, you always do it again. The information is freely available online you don’t even have to look that hard for it.

Just like watching Eastenders doesn’t make a difference to someone’s life, but apparently people still watch it!

That's nothing like the same thing!

Eastenders is a TV programme, created for entertainment, for the purpose of people to watch it.

Gathering together a few details of a stranger's life, and using them to get information about them online is completely different and a bit unhinged.

It doesn’t make any difference to my life. It’s not that deep, it’s just nosiness. Just like watching Eastenders doesn’t make a difference to someone’s life, but apparently people still watch it!
There is so much information at our fingertips now that takes literally seconds to access. I doubt people are spending an afternoon sleuthing, just the odd minute while waiting for the kettle to boil, example.

I don't! Would never cross my mind. I'm not that interested in people's personal wealth.

OP's behaviour is definitely creepy.

I can't understand why anyone would care how much somebody spent on their house. I have never looked up something like this. What possible difference can it make to your own life?