As 2021 approaches the end, many of us are wondering about the kind of things people looked up via the internet, during humanity's second year of extensive digitalization, thanks to the pandemic. Are you ready to know the top 10 things people looked up online in 2021?
The internet has been the one virtual place that billions of people spend time every day. The online world has become the one spot that hosts anyone from any place in the world, welcoming questions and providing all sorts of information as per request.
Take a moment to think about the number of times that you need a search engine to look up any piece of information, and you will be surprised at the frequency that you use them. This is the case with pretty much everyone with stable access to the internet.
93% of all online interactions start with a search engine. #DigitalMarketing pic.twitter.com/zTeRyKzz7s
— Touchvert (@Touchvert_) December 2, 2021
During the last decade, the use of search engines has rapidly grown and it has become an integral constant in the lives of billions of people around the world, thanks to the emergence of affordable smartphones and the growing networks of internet connections.
For the last two years specifically, humans have grown incredibly dependent on the internet not only for the information they need to get in the blink of an eye, but also for basic daily needs, such as education, carrying out work tasks, and shopping for everyday needs, not to mention the need for entertainment using the wide web.
Now, can you think of possible answers to the top 10 things people looked up online in 2021?
In this article, we use data provided by Ahrefs website, which is devoted to analyzing internet trends, in order for us to learn more about the top 10 things people looked up online in 2021 and the main topics of interest for internet users throughout the year.
Top 10 Things People Looked Up Online in 2021
1. Video Streaming Services
Amongst the top things people looked up online in 2021 was a number of video streaming services. The list is led by YouTube before featuring its initials YT, in addition to Netflix's name with 1.450 billion searches in 2021.
This does not come as a surprise given that most of us have been spending significantly more time at home since the COVID19 pandemic, meaning that the only way for us to see the world around us, learn about it, or spend time is the internet.
2. Social Media Networks
In the second place came names of social media websites. Facebook came at the top, while Whatsapp, Pinterest, and Instagram, and Twitter followed.
It was also interesting that the less-heard of VK Russian social network (VKontakte) was featured on the list as one of the top things people looked up online in 2021.
In fact, social media networks take up most of the list when it comes to the top 10 things people looked up online in 2021 with more than 2 billion searches.
3. Email Services
Even though most of us memorize the URL links through which we access our emails, it seems that most of us are still asking search engines about this information. The most popular email service has been Gmail, followed by Hotmail and Yahoo mail with near 1 billion searches for all of them combined.
4. Online Shopping
Another no-surprise is to find that most internet users are googling the leading online retail stores prior to making their orders. Amazon (381 million), of course, was in the lead, in addition to eBay (95 million), Walmart (73 million), OLX (50 million), Shein (37 million), India's Flipkart (63 million), and Ikea (57 million).
5. Online Translation Tools
Looking up links for instant translation tools has been featured in more than one language. Millions of internet users have been interested in understanding people from other cultures using the global web, evidently by the number of times they looked up the word "translate" both in English and many other languages (750 million).
Translating words has been amongst the top 10 things people looked up online in 2021.
6. Online Educational Tools
Another norm in the post-pandemic world is online education. Since COVID19 first spread around the world in the early weeks of 2020, millions of students have been receiving their education through the internet.
Moreover, an endless number of educators and teachers are also learning their ways around online educational tools, which has resulted in several of them being amongst the top 10 things people looked up online in 2021, especially Google Classroom, which was looked up more than 55 million times in 2021.
7. News
Here is another result of our growing access to the internet which has enhanced our bond with the world around us. We are following the news more than ever.
Whether via social media websites or specialized news applications that allow notifications, most of us are now hyped on knowing what is going on around us as soon as it happens. Besides the word "news" that has been looked up around 75 million times, BBC News (63 million) and Fox News (37 million) were the most searched for in 2021.
8. Weather Updates
Similar to #7 of the top 10 things people looked up online in 2021, most people are now taking advantage of the click-away technology that enables us to know how the weather is going to be like during our days, so we plan our activities ahead of time.
In 2021, the word "weather" has been searched around 200 million times in several languages.
9. Internet Speed Tests
As we spend more time using the internet, it is only understandable that many people keep wondering how speedy their internet connections get.
This practice is also common when people face internet difficulties that affect certain services, such as video chat, video streaming, or video gaming. Speed tests were searched more than 60 million times in 2021.
10. Video Gaming Platforms
Finally, another online leisure activity is amongst the top 10 things people looked up online in 2021, with several platforms being featured in the top looked up list, including Twitch (52 million), and Roblox (100 million).
Written by Riham Darwish
