AUSTRALIA’S TOP GOOGLE SEARCHES ARE UNSURPRISINGLY DIFFERENT THIS YEAR

YOU MIGHT ALREADY HAVE AN IDEA WHAT THEY ARE.

AUSTRALIA'S TOP GOOGLE SEARCHES ARE UNSURPRISINGLY DIFFERENT HIS YEAR — Image: Nathana Reboucas on Unsplash

The year 2020 is considered the worst year of their lives by many people all over the world. Things have been quite bad for Australians even before that, as the Australian bushfires that started in the latter half of 2019 already disrupted our lives. Then in March this year, the looming coronavirus pandemic hit us and confined us into our homes. The recent Google Searches by Australians show what a mess this year has been so far.

Google has released the top 20 searches from January to June 2020, and yes, ‘coronavirus‘ dominated Australia’s top Google searches. 15 out of the 20 searches, which amounts to about 75 percent of the whole, were related to the global pandemic and include terms like ‘hand sanitiser‘, ‘panic-buying’, and ‘toilet paper.’

The Google searches of non-coronavirus related stuff are sadly related to tragedies like ‘Kobe Bryant‘, ‘Bushfires in Australia’, and the ‘Black Lives Matter Moment‘ that started with the tragic death of George Floyd. Some searches are related to the current international climate like TikTok.

Google searches data also shows some positive trends. For instance, Animal Crossing made it to the top 10. It’s a fun game that released in March and helped people who are stuck at home to entertain themselves. Another entertainment that kept people hooked was Tiger King by Netflix, and Aussies were more interested in finding answers related to that Carole Baskin mystery.

One more positive thing that was highlighted in Google Searches was that Australians were getting away from screens and pursuing more peaceful hobbies like craft and gardening in these tough times. Aussies are also concerned about their mental health, and meditation had the second-highest peak on the record.

These Google searches only reflect the search terms that have had the biggest growth in traffic in the first half of 2020. They do not reflect the phrases that have the highest search volume overall.

Top Google searches in Australia for 2020 so far are:

1. Coronavirus

2. Social Distancing

3. Worldometers

4. Panic buying

5. Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)

6. Black Lives Matter

7. Pandemic

8. Hand sanitiser

9. Animal Crossing

10. Spanish flu

11. Kobe Bryant