Half of UK adults are afraid to ask questions about sexuality, gender and disability

As a new study finds that 50 per cent of people would rather turn to Google for answers, Saman Javed takes a closer look at why this is the case

Crowd of people from different backgrounds (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

Half of the adults in the UK do not feel comfortable asking questions about sexuality, gender identity and disability, a new study has found.

A survey of 3,032 adults, carried out by YouGov and commissioned by Google, found that 50 per cent of respondents turn to the search engine and social media to ask questions on topics that do not directly relate to their own lived experience.

More than a third of people (35 per cent) said they are most afraid to ask other people questions about their sexuality and gender identity (31 per cent), and 26 per cent said they find it uncomfortable to ask questions on disability.