The results are in: This past year, people wanted to get better.
That’s what is clear from Google’s annual “Year in Search” list. Each year, the tech company analyzes which search terms saw the highest spike over the course of the last year.
Those questions and phrases that saw unusually high growth in searches can show the company what information needs to be made more accessible and teaches us a little more about what we all experienced together.
After people spent 2020 trying to survive and understand the global pandemic, this year’s results told a story of a world looking to rebuild physically, emotionally and socially.
“People are coming to Google looking for ways to heal,” said Hema Budaraju, senior director of product, health and search social impact at Google. “It’s a good sign of our resilient spirit and the globe wanting to come back and get better.”
For health-focused searches, vaccinations, well-being and helping others saw the biggest surges over the past year.
I – Word Understanding
Spike – an abrupt sharp increase
Resilient – able to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something bad happens
Surge – a sudden increase to an unusually high level
II – Have Your Say
1, What were the things that interested you this year (2021)?
What did you do to learn more about those things?
2, If 2020 was about pandemic and testing, 2021 was about vaccination.
What were your concerns about vaccination?
3, In 2021, “why do I feel sad?” was searched more than it ever was before and saw a 10% increase from 2020, according to Google’s internal metrics.
Were there moments you felt sad this year? How did you overcome it?
841 According to our Google searches, 2021 was about getting better
