Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes
- Google searches during the pandemic reveal diverse public concerns and interests.
- In 2020, top searches included election results, coronavirus updates and DIY projects.
- By 2021, focus shifted to COVID-19 vaccines, social media trends and economic recovery.
SALT LAKE CITY — The day that COVID-19 became an official pandemic, people were likely Googling questions such as, What is coronavirus?
But that March 11, 2020, they were even more apt to be asking questions like "How long will movie mogul Harvey Weinstein be in prison?" For the politically minded, folks were searching online to see who won various state presidential primaries and whether Bernie Sanders had dropped out of the race.
Google searches provide an interesting way to look at the pandemic as it unfolded five years ago. And the search giant is good at making lists.
The top five topics by the end of the 2020 were:
- Election results
- Coronavirus
- Kobe Bryant
- Coronavirus update
- Coronavirus symptoms
But along the way, we had a lot of interests competing for our attention — from how to divert ourselves to how to protect ourselves from an illness that in the U.S. would kill more than a million people. The searches themselves tell a story about a very tumultuous year.
Google said that Americans really wanted to know where to buy toilet paper and PS5s in 2020.
We were interested in learning more about the TV shows "Tiger King" and "Cobra Kai," "Ozark" and "The Umbrella Academy."
We longed to know how to make sourdough bread, whipped coffee and Disney churros.
We diverted ourselves looking for virtual field trips, museum tours and the Kentucky Derby. Some of us searched out virtual learning.
We had a bunch of whys, starting with — oddly enough — why were chainsaws invented and why is there a coin shortage? We wondered why George Floyd was arrested. We even wondered "why is Nevada taking so long?" though the context for that feels elusive in 2025.
"Where is my stimulus money?" we asked. "My tax refund?" We also asked the location of Kansas City and Beirut and pondered where Shakira is from.
We were industrious, too. As many Americans stayed home and some businesses shuttered, we had some basic do-it-yourself questions, as well: We wanted to know how to cut hair at home, style curtain bangs and curly hair, or create box braids. We sought advice on coloring hair at home. And we queried, "How do I style biker shorts?" Or at least some of us did.
Also in the DIY vein, we wanted to know how to make hand sanitizer and fabric masks — including without sewing.
Sports lovers tracked the Boston Celtics, the Miami Heat and the Kansas City Chiefs, in that order.
One question, though, might give a reader pause. In high numbers, Americans asked: "How do I wash my hands?"
It turns out that's actually more complicated than some people remember. For those needing a refresher, Google said to wet your hands under clean, running water, apply soap, lather by rubbing your hands together vigorously for 20 seconds or more, then scrub your entire hand, including between fingers and under fingernails. Finally, rinse them well with running water and dry them with a clean towel.
So many health questions
The Top 10 2020 health questions, per Google, were:
- What is the coronavirus?
- How long does COVID-19 last?
- What are the symptoms of novel coronavirus?
- How long does COVID-19 stay on surfaces?
- How does coronavirus spread?
- How long are you contagious with COVID-19?
- Is diarrhea a symptom of COVID?
- Is coronavirus airborne?
- Is sneezing a symptom of COVID?
- Is there a cure for coronavirus?
New normal of 2021
By 2021, we'd stopped wondering about COVID symptoms. Most people had probably heard them a zillion times. Google presented its top 2021 search categories:
- Doomscrolling — folks fixated on social media.
- U.S. Capitol — Jan. 6 events surpassed even interest in new COVID vaccines.
- Where do I find a COVID-19 vaccine?
- Affirmations — "I am worthy." "I am loved." Perhaps that meant "I am lonely."
- Sea shanties — Google reported that "social media users across the globe harmonized to these folksy maritime songs like it was 1825."
- Mittens — a fascination born of fashion icon Bernie Sanders.
- What are the odds of winning the megamillions? No explainer needed.
- Amanda Gorman, after she read her poem at President Joe Biden's inauguration.
- Vaccination volunteers — Google said the world was ready to help end the crisis.
- How to start a business — a lot of businesses had shuttered or let employees go.
That year, there were search peaks, too. Soulmate, power outage, plumber, how to help Texas, long-distance relationship, daft punk, and Meghan and Harry all hit record highs.
Worldwide concerns in 2020
The situation was, of course, serious worldwide. The journal Scientific Reports (part of the Nature portfolio) published a study led by World Bank on what people searched for online. It tracked the evolution of the pandemic as medical knowledge grew.
At first, symptom-related searches dominated: "loss of smell" and "why can't I taste food?" As COVID-19 evolved, people still searched in high numbers for symptoms in that first year.
But the researchers found differences worldwide in terms of how governments approached the illness: "Countries with more restrictive containment policies experienced greater search interest in unemployment and mental health terms after policies were implemented," the focus on socioeconomics.
"Higher-income countries experienced a larger increase in searches related to unemployment and a larger reduction in relationship and family planning keywords relative to lower-income countries."
