Google has revealed the top phrases Australians have been looking up on the search engine so far this year.
The data, which shows the top questions Australians asked from January 1 to June 30, exacerbates just how much the COVID-19 outbreak has dominated the national discussion.
‘Coronavirus’ is now one of the highest spiking topics ever recorded on Google and unsurprisingly has been the most searched and top trending topic over the first six months of 2020.
And the outbreak has made a number of related topics such as ‘social distancing’, ‘panic buying’ and ‘zoom video communications’ very popular on Google.
The top 20 topics ranked in order by six month growth for the first half of 2020 can be found below:
- Coronavirus
- Social Distancing
- Worldometers
- Panic buying
- Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)
- Black Lives Matter
- Pandemic
- Hand sanitiser
- Animal Crossing
- Spanish flu
- Kobe Bryant
- Zoom Video Communications
- Social Isolation
- Quarantine
- Toilet paper
- Furlough
- TikTok
- Bushfires in Australia
- Epidemic
- Stockpile
Australians are also turning to Google for answers about the pandemic and how to navigate these challenging times.
A list of questions ranked by six month growth can be found below.
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How many cases of coronavirus in Australia?
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What is coronavirus?
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How did coronavirus start?
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How many people have died from coronavirus?
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What are the symptoms of coronavirus?
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What does simp mean?
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When will coronavirus end?
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How long does coronavirus last on surfaces?
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Can you get coronavirus twice?
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Is coronavirus airborne?
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How old is Addison Rae?
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How to make hand sanitiser.
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Is Kim Jong Un dead?
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When is minecraft shutting down?
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Where to buy toilet paper.
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How is coronavirus spread?
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What is the name of the kingdom in Tangled?
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Can dogs get coronavirus?
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Why is everyone buying toilet paper?
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When does jobkeeper end?
Google also makes mention of the rise in ‘how to’ searches, particularly around cooking.
‘How to make whipped coffee’ has spiked +2,300 per cent YTD, while ‘how to make sourdough starter’ has spiked 600 per cent.
Similarly, Australians are looking for DIY solutions around COVID-19.
‘How to make hand sanitiser’ is the top trending ‘how to’ related search in 2020 so far – up 5,000 per cent. Search interest for ‘how to sew a face mask’ has also spiked +1,750 per cent over the year to date.
The data also shows how Australians are turning to Google to access relevant news and information about the pandemic.
Search interest for topics such as ‘news’ and ‘statistics’ is currently at an all-time high, according to Google.
