Google recently released their annual “year in search” video. The 2022 edition was vastly different that the previous year. COVID didn’t show up on the list this year, I think my searches alone would have put it in the top ten.
2021 searches reflected getting through COVID, the lockdowns, mental health, and how to develop resilience. People were searching for news on vaccines for COVID, how to help local communities, and “when can I visit my family.”
2022 searches were very different. The top searches reflected mental health struggles, major life changes, a physical fitness reboot, following dreams, buying a farm, and taking great leaps whether it was changing hair color, or giving notice at a job, or moving to another country and completely starting life over. People searched for “how to be fearless.” There were searches for news on Ukraine, how to help the Ukrainian people, and definitions of democracy and freedom. The Washington Post has a summary of videos most watched in 2022 here, the topic is also the war in Ukraine.
My personal search history is all over the map. I tend to Google random thoughts, lyrics to songs, movie titles, diseases, flower species, famous quotes, how to clean something, how to cook something, what is this bump on my dog, covid stats, image searches, vaccine uptake in regions, memes, reviews on products, recipes for things to make with lavender (I farm lavender when not researching global health security news) and most recently, travel destinations warm temps and a beach.
Ending the last Transmission on a humorous (but not quite scientifically accurate) note with Dave Barry’s Year in Review for 2022 happy reading, and Happy New Year!
I enjoy your newsletter and humorous commentary. Thanks for writing these and keeping us informed.
Thanks Andrea!