Insights From Google's 2021 Year In Search Retrospective Report

Google released their traditional Year In Search report and it is filled with the usual cherry-picked data points such as "generation z was searched more than millennials" or "searches for how to be kind were two times more than how to be popular." In truth, reading a report filled with top-level soundbites like these might make you question whether the "insight" you are clearly meant to take away is actually one supported by real data. Are people really more interested in Gen Z or trying to be kinder to one another? Still, there are plenty of directional trends that do seem like they reveal a global zeitgeist worth paying attention to.

People are clearly searching healing related topics much more after a hard year. Searches for climate change related topics are clearly increasing. And their series of interviews in the "We Are Fortunate To Be Over 70" series is also a great read. Altogether, the report from Google does offer a unique perspective on how humans thought about and related to one another across a difficult year. After all, as they are fond of reminding us, we are what we search.