The Year 2020 in Review

Photo by Cottonbro (Pexels)

This is the time to recap the year that was. And what a year it was. 

There are a number of ways to do it, many that are interesting. You can look at a year in terms of notable deaths, viral events, political rises and falls, etc.

But how do you really get a 12-month snapshot of a culture’s zeitgeist?

I would argue for two words: Google searches.

I’m not saying that this will be what historians will mark in 10, much less 100 years… even less what is most significant. But I will say that it may be the clearest window into our current soul.

So here we go with a few peeks into our inner world in 2020, courtesy of Google itself.

Top 10 Searches:

1. Election results
2. Coronavirus
3. Kobe Bryant
4. Coronavirus update
5. Coronavirus symptoms
6. Zoom
7. Who is winning the election
8. Naya Rivera
9. Chadwick Boseman
10. PlayStation 5

Top 10 News Story Searches:

1. Election results
2. Coronavirus
3. Stimulus checks
4. Unemployment
5. Iran
6. Hurricane Laura
7. Super Tuesday
8. Stock market
9. Murder hornet
10. Australia fires 

Top 10 “Why?” Searches:

1. Why were chainsaws invented?
2. Why is there a coin shortage?
3. Why was George Floyd arrested?
4. Why is Nevada taking so long?
5. Why is TikTok getting banned?
6. Why did Kobe have two numbers?
7. Why is everyone buying toilet paper?
8. Why is it called COVID-19?
9. Why is it called Juneteenth?
10. Why is Australia on fire? 

And finally, the Top 10 People Searches:

1. Joe Biden
2. Kim Jong Un
3. Kamala Harris
4. Jacob Blake
5. Ryan Newman
6. Tom Hanks
7. Shakira
8. Tom Brady
9. Kanye West
10. Vanessa Bryant 

Welcome to our world.

James Emery White

Sources

See the “Year in Search 2020” for the United States, Google, read online.