Chances are if you have a question, Google has the answer. The search engine literally processes more than 8.5 billion searches every day. So, what have we been looking for over the past year? The answer might surprise you.
When Google looked at the searches that had the biggest increase in 2022 compared to 2021, it came up with a six- letter word: “WORDLE.” Searches for the popular word game, now owned by the New York Times, were top trending across the globe.
"It really gives us a nice insight on the year, and that top trending search this year is actually Wordle, that five-letter word game that became so popular, it hit the top of our trends and that's followed by election results,” said Google Tech Expert Sarah Armstrong.
So what comes after “election results?” That would be "Betty White." "A lot of people were interested in her," Armstrong said.
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If election results were a popular search, Donald Trump was not.
"The former President actually didn’t make our top people list," Armstrong said. She said that may be because there is always interest in him but there was no unique spike in 2022. So who was popular in Google searches this year? Johnny Depp.
Interest in his trial attracted a lot of attention in 2022. Number two was Will Smith. "I'm sure because of the famous slap at the Oscars," Armstrong said.
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Also big in 2022, according to Google, were searches about change.
"Can I change my job, my hairstyle and, even, can I change the world" are all top trending this year. 'Side Hustle' was also a big search in the jobs category along with “work life balance.”
Here are the top searches for 2022.
1. Wordle
2. India vs England
3. Ukraine
4. Queen Elizabeth
5. Ind vs SA
6. World Cup
7. India vs West Indies
8. iPhone 14
9. Jeffrey Dahmer
10. Indian Premier League
Are you nosy? Do you want to see what the world is searching for? You can Check out Google’s "Year in Search 2022" at: https://trends.google.com/trends/yis/2022/GLOBAL/
