The year 2020 has been a rough one, with so many events happening it is difficult not to get overwhelmed. From the coronavirus pandemic that has forced the world to go on lockdown, from the death of beloved celebrities to the release of new games that helped up get preoccupied, here are the top searches of 2020 based on Google.
Google searches in 2020
Google released its annual "Year in Search" list on December 9. The list serves as the chronicle of the decades worth of newsworthy stories that took place during this one long and challenging year.
The list includes 2020's top trending searching, which had a high spike in traffic over a sustained period compared to last year's traffic.
The overwhelming barrage of news is one of the culprits in this sudden increase in searches. The global queries that include the word "why" were searched more often in 2020. Examples of this are "why is Keeping You with the Kardashians ending?" or "why is Dr. Fauci missing?".
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To no one's surprise, the topped trending searches in the US are the "coronavirus" and the "election results" as the public looked for answers about the pandemic and the election that took days to release the final result.
Among the top 10 on the list of trending searches are Zoom, PlayStation 5, Chadwick Boseman and Naya Rivera. Google also divided the top trending searches in different categories.
Trending searches in news
As for the news category, it includes searches about the stimulus checks, which is the payment given to millions of eligible Americans as part of the $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Relief Package that was passed in March 2020.
The death of general Qasem Soleimani, who was killed in a US airstrike in January, also made the list as the event raised tension between the United States and Iran, as reported by CNN.
Murder hornets, the massive invasive bugs that were spotted in Washington earlier this year trended online. Natural disasters are also included: Hurricane Laura, a Category 4 storm that caused death in Texas and Louisiana, and the Australian forest fires which killed 3 billion animals.
Trending searches in celebrities
As for the celebrities category, the prominent losses of 2020 were the most search. The list includes basketball star Kobe Bryant, Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, actor Chadwick Boseman, actress Naya Rivera and guitarist Eddie Van Halen. George Floyd, whose death started a worldwide movement for racial justice is also included in the list.
The "how to help" section shows that despite the hardships of 2020, people still stepped up to help each other in times of crisis. The list shows people searched for ways to help Yemen, Beirut, those suffering from mental illness and more. People also search for information on how to donate blood, N95 masks, plasma and other materials needed in the pandemic.
The list also features the ways that people coped and how people kept themselves entertained this year, especially since for months some were forced to go on lockdown. The searches include driving in movie theaters, how to cut one's hair and how to make hand sanitizer.
Other events included in the trending searches for 2020 are the US government's ban on TikTok, the name of Elon Musk's baby, the rise and fall of the stock market, Dalgona coffee, online school and the companies making Juneteenth a corporate holiday.
Netflix documentary "Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness", "The Last Dance" documentary series that showed Michael Jordan's career and "Paraiste", the first non-English language movie to win an Oscar for best picture are all in the list as well.
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Written by Sieeka Khan
