"Mis"Using Search Engines

Have we become too much dependent on web search engines like Google, Bing, Yahoo or Ask? The reason I ask this question is to think about all the different kind of queries we type in the search boxes of these search engines.
I am a big user of search engines, and had it been not for the search engines, read Google, I would not have been hooked to the Internet. I use search engines, read Google, for almost all kinds of queries I have. Be it product comparison or upcoming movies, weather updates or web development related questions, traffic directions to news updates, word meanings or even how to make money on Internet, I dig into the Internet using search engines. How else? There is so much "free for all" wealth on the Internet and the only way to grab it is via the search engines. I wonder should we, all Internet users, not honor the Larry Page's and Sergey Brin's of the world for giving the common man access to this wealth and the ability to fully utilize the power of the Internet.
However, off late, I have started to realize that we are in some way misusing these search engines too. Do i need to type in Yahoo in the search box to reach yahoo.com when I know the web address of yahoo? Or for that matter, can i not just type gmail.com on the browsers address bar rather than typing gmail in the search box, its just a question of 4 more characters (.com). I think its the mental attitude that forces me to go via the search engine to any website I want to go to. Should I not relieve the search engines for these "unnecessary" searches.
As the first step to get rid of the "search-engine" obsession, I decided to remove Google as my default web page. Next was to use the browsers built in Favorites or Bookmarks feature. I tagged my most frequently visited websites for emails, news, weather, sports updates, dictionary sites and other utility websites. I have also started to use the search bar embedded in my browsers to perform searches rather than visiting the search engines home page. I still use the search engines a lot but now i restrict myself to using them only when required. I also phrase my search query better before I just type in the box and click "Search".
The reason I decided to better utilize the search engines was to reduce unnecessary search look-ups, optimize Internet bandwidth usage, reduce hardware wastage and more importantly to conserve energy. I know,its petty, but I know in the long run, it will add up and with lots of Internet users deciding to use search engines optimally, I am pretty sure it will help.
I know you have reached this blog via a search engine and I cant help but congratulate you on using the search engine optimally this time :)