Google officially released this year’s “Year in Search”
GOOGLE — While YouTube Rewind had been retired for good, the tech giant recently released this year’s “Year in Search“.
Google annually analyzed which search terms saw the highest spike over the course of the last year and those phrases and questions that saw unusually high growth in searches can show the company what information needed to be made more accessible and to teach the public a little more about what people experienced together.
This year’s search results told a story of a world looking to rebuild physically, emotionally, and socially after people spent 2020 trying to survive and understand the global pandemic.
Hema Budaraju, senior director of product, health and search social impact at Google, said that people were coming to Google looking for ways to heal, adding that it’s a good sign of resilient spirit and the globe wanting to come back and get better.
“Well-being”, “Vaccinations”, and “helping others” saw the biggest surges for health-focused Google searches over the past year.
According to Budaraju, the topic in most people’s heads and hearts over the past couple of years was “Covid”.
“Is the coronavirus vaccine approved”, “How does the coronavirus vaccine work”, “Is the Covid vaccine safe”, and “How many coronavirus vaccines are there” were some of the most asked questions people were grappling with this year.
READ ALSO: Google Year in Search 2020 Summarizes Times That Had Everyone Asking ‘Why’
Budaraju, in response, said that the company has tried to provide answers with information panels and resources in order to direct people to the places they can get themselves and their children vaccinated against COVID-19.
“Providing locally relevant, timeless, and authoritative information is paramount. This is our responsibility, and we are proud of doing the best that Google can,” Budaraju said. “We will continue our efforts to make sure the world bounces back.“
Google’s internal metrics showed that in 2021, “Why do I feel sad?” was searched more than it was before, and also saw a 10 percent increase from last year.
Budaraju said that topics such as stress, anxiety, grief, and therapy reached an all-time high this year.
In a win for humanity, this year’s Google searches also described a world that’s interested in helping one another. Along with Google searches about how to help one’s own mental health were phrases such as “how to help someone having a panic attack” and “how to help a friend”.
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