DMX, COVID-19 vaccine, Meghan Markle, Squid Game and Bernie Sanders’ mittens top Google list of most searched topics in 2021 | ZDNet

Google released a list of the topics most searched on their platform globally in 2021, finding billions of people were looking for more information about topics like the COVID-19 vaccine, the death of DMX, the popular Netflix show Squid Game and more. 

Globally, Google found that the most popular news searches this year involved Afghanistan, which dominated headlines for weeks in August as the US ended its 20-year involvement in the country. The COVID-19 vaccine and stock advice about AMC and Gamestop also were in the top five news topics searched.

Alec Baldwin and Pete Davidson topped the list of actors searched for globally in 2021 while athletes like Tiger Woods and Simone Biles led the way in sports. Marvel films like Eternals, Black Widow and Shang-Chi were the top searched for movies while DMX, Gabby Petito and Marília Mendonça were the most searched deaths of 2021. 

Squid Game, Bridgerton, WandaVision, Cobra Kai and Loki led the way as the most searched for TV shows and Olivia Rodrigo, Lil Nas X and Walker Hayes had the most searched for songs. 

Google also broke down trends by month, showing that terms like “doomscrolling,” “US Capitol,” and “sea shanties” were the most searched terms in January. 

They noted that thanks to US Senator Bernie Sanders, searches for “mittens” reached an all-time high in January. “Vaccination volunteer” was the most searched for volunteer opportunity while US presidential inauguration poet Amanda Gorman was the most searched poet worldwide. 

February saw millions of searches for news about the devastating winter storm that hit Texas and the break-up of popular duo Daft Punk. March searches were dominated by people looking for information about Oprah Winfrey’s interview with British royals Harry Windsor and Meghan Markle.

Global “where can I travel” searches were three times higher in 2021 compared to pre-pandemic levels, Google found, adding that US searches for “road trip” were higher than ever before in 2021. 

“How to help Afghanistan” and “How to help Haiti” were both trending searches in August while terms like “impact of climate change,” “Suez Canal,” “sustainability,” and “mammography” saw all-time high searches throughout 2021.