Google’s Year in Search was as bleak as 2020

It’s no secret 2020 was an awful year. 

The gruesome pandemic, the maddening isolation, and, in the U.S., a presidential election that dragged on while the loser (outgoing President Donald Trump) stubbornly refused to concede despite the fact that he lost handily. Not to mention raging wildfires, tragic celebrity deaths, and mass protests against racial injustice. 

But in case you needed more proof how bleak this year was, Google’s Year in Search could provide that data. Google released the data on the top trending searches for the year in the United States — meaning queries that had a high spike in traffic over a sustained period in 2020 compared with 2019. 

The top trending searches were pretty bleak. They were pretty much all related to election, the pandemic, or celebrities who died. Well, those things and the PS5. According to Google, the Top 10 trending searches were: 

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 trending searches in the news category featured more of the same, with election results, coronavirus, stimulus checks, and unemployment leading all queries. Or consider the top trending “near me” searches: Covid testing near me, early voting near me, fires near me, voting near me, protests near me. 

Obviously, people were concerned about tragedy in their area, whether it be deadly illness, catastrophic wildfires, or protests combatting social injustices. 

The “how to help” section was pretty similar. Here it is: 

1. How to help Australia fires

2. How to help Black Lives Matter

3. How to help during coronavirus

4. How to help Yemen

5. How to help acid reflux

6. How to help Beirut

7. How to help someone having a panic attack

8. How to help period cramps

9. How to help heartburn

10. How to help nausea  

“How to donate” was more of the same, with folks wondering how they could give to Black Lives Matter, or donate N95 masks, or give to relief efforts for the Australian wildfires. 

It was definitely a dark year and, yes, Google searches showed that. But at the very least, searches also showed people wanted to help one another get through it all.