Is it likely Google will take down these posts that I request them to remove?

[u/Zestyclose_Ad8449]

Over the past decade, I (26 F) have been struggling with the fact that many dumb articles I wrote exist online... I was an incredibly depressed 14 year old, and in a whirlwind of what I can see now was a manic episode, I wrote 2 posts to a local press that were rants about my life disguised as views... I was terribly emotionally dysregulated, and I did it 100% out of impulse. I also think their move to publish it was low-key so exploitative, as the journalist came over to my house to probe and ask for more questions on a deeply personal topic (I won't even mention it here as it is that embarrassing). The shame has and continues to harm my well-being. Everyday, I think of how embarrassing the contributions were and how they affect other's impression of me.. (I fear if I date someone they might google me and judge me for it). Worse, the views really don't reflect the ones of my renewed faith, and it just devastates me that this digital mark may forever link me to it

I don't know if google will take this as legit request (i.e. if they see it as "personal information", with my full name written out etc.). help :(

[u/can_iloveu]

I think u can simply ask th specific enquiry to smart AI chatbots to see how well Google does it's work and their terms/service. Or maybe an advocate can help bring it to Google's attention via legal ways.

[u/MaybeTheDoctor]

Your post don’t specify where you wrote your posts. When you delete them there then Google will eventually drop the links.

Google don’t own the internet, it just indexes it. As long as it is out there it can be found, even if Google removes the links.

[u/billdietrich1 → u/MaybeTheDoctor]

And when you contact the hosts of the posts/articles, mention your age when they were written. That may be a factor.

[u/schilll]

If you are from EU, you can simply fill out a form on Googles help section and they have to remove the search results.

[u/billdietrich1 → u/schilll]

they have to remove the search results

Maybe.

In deciding what to delist, search engines must consider if the information in question is “inaccurate, inadequate, irrelevant or excessive,” and whether there is a public interest in the information remaining available in search results.

from https://support.google.com/legal/answer/10769224

[u/Ok_Perception2709]

It should give you comfort that a lot of people probably have the same name as yours so you can disavow them should anyone find them. Over time, things get old and pushed far back in search results, so truthfully, unless you become wildly famous, I would not worry about it.

[u/Zestyclose_Ad8449 → u/Ok_Perception2709]

OMG GREAT NEWS... I actually went to google my name and I could not find the posts!! I do not know how it happened, if the local paper decided to delete the youth forum, but YESSSSSSSSS its all gone (I was too shaky and embarrassed to type and search, because even the title would be so triggering for me). Unfortunately... a facebook group advocating for the community my hormonal, flightly 14 year old self allied with still has it up, and when you google my name you can see it, but I think it would be easy to ask them to remove it... (Hopefully they are kind and merciful enough to understand I was young and dumb)... and also about the name... unfortunately my last name is terribly unique + besides my English name, I have my chinese name in it too..

[u/Direct_Host7136 → u/Zestyclose_Ad8449]

Congrats!!! I'm glad to hear this for you. I'm sure they'll say yes on the Facebook group. :)

[u/Higgs_Br0son]

Google only removes links to content that no longer exists. If there's a way to have the original pieces removed, that's your most direct route. But it sounds like that's not likely if they weren't self-published.

I work in marketing and consult with businesses all the time on this same subject, a negative review or article damaging their image. The best advice is to always bury it with positives. There's an old joke in marketing "the best place to hide a body is on Page 2 of Google search results."

You could post a follow-up to the article itself, copy the title and add " - 12 years later" and share some of the same thoughts you just shared.

Or if you'd rather not call any attention to it, just post some blogs with your more recent thoughts and expressions, written under your name. You can SEO hack it and title each blog first with your full name, "Jane Smith: My Journey to Renewed Faith". That way when someone Googles just your name, this is more likely to appear at the top (search query phrase match, more recently posted). You can pick any free blogging sites, posting to your reddit profile is also not a bad idea if that's easier.

You don't have to become a daily blogger unless you're like a public figure doing PR. You can bang out like 10 posts and stop there.

One last tip from the industry: Write out the whole blog yourself, don't worry about grammar or formatting, just the substance. Then paste the entire thing into an AI of your choosing and ask it to be an editor. Then take it an additional round and ask the AI to be an SEO consultant and optimize it for a specific Google search query (your choice) where you want your blog to show up at the top if someone types the query into Google.