If you want to use the internet, you don't have a choice.
Google has burrowed it self so completely into every facet of internet based computing it is literally impossible to completely avoid using their technology.
“If you want to use the internet, you don’t have a choice.”
I’ve heard that even DuckDuckGo is Google based. IIRC, it does a little bit to help privacy, but when it comes to query results, it is Google. The links that come first in DuckDuckGo would be the same links as with Google; they draw from Google. So if privacy is your only concern, DDG could work. But if you want to get conservative links in the first pages, DDG won’t help you. You’re screwed. I miss Alta Vista.