Why?
As the events of the past 12 months have shown us, this is most often the core question of existence, particularly during a ruthless pandemic that's been met with a sobering seriousness by many and a baffling sense of indifference from others.
On Wednesday, Google came through with their annual deep-dive into a year's worth of trending searches, unsurprisingly revealing a lot of Google-based attention was given to the coronavirus pandemic. Others placing high among the trending searches list include the 2020 presidential election, the late Kobe Bryant, and Zoom.
Actors including Joaquin Phoenix, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Tom Hanks were high on the trends ranking for their respective category. The concerts category, meanwhile, saw high volumes for Travis Scott and Garth Brooks. Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion's still-ubiquitous “WAP” came out in top in the lyrics category, notably ahead of BTS' "Dynamite" and 6ix9ine's "GOOBA."
The full Year in Search breakdown for 2020—which also includes Chadwick Boseman, Joe Biden, Kamala Harris, George Floyd, Naya Rivera, Tiger King, Parasite, and more—is available here.
And getting more specific, Google has also shared an investigative look into how the pandemic era has altered our daily rituals. For example, a top trending beauty-related "how to" for 2020 was "how to cut men's hair at home."
