Google's 'Year in Search' video looks back on questions asked in 2020

'Why' was the most searched for term this year, as per the leading search engine.

2020 has been an unforgettable year. Many encountered a global pandemic (Coronavirus) for the first time in their lives. The way that we live and work changed drastically, as most countries went under lockdown in a bid to stop the Coronavirus from spreading.

Google released the annual edition of its 'Year in Search' video (for 2020). It looked back on all the search terms and questions that people asked the search engine this year. It also created an interactive scrollable site with multiple choices for users to view trends that are calming, surprising, friendly, funny, etc.

The video reflects the different moods of people in the different phases of lockdown, quarantine and isolation. The data pulled up on the website is indicative of these feelings too.

In India, 'how to learn a new language' was searched at an all-time high. In 2020, worldwide and particularly in India, searches for support small business doubled, as compared to the previous year (2019). India stepped up to help those less fortunate this year, searching 'food bank' more in 2020, than at any other time in history.

World over, 'how to learn coding' was the top trending thing people searched to learn. 'Python' was the top searched programming language. 'How to be a teacher' was also searched more than ever before, in 2020.

The world also searched 'how to help' more than ever before. Among the top trending things were: 'how to help', 'how to help Australia fires', 'how to help Black Lives Matter (BLM)', 'how to help during Coronavirus', and 'how to help Beirut'.

For the first time, BLM was searched for, worldwide. Many brands also stepped up and showed their solidarity with the protestors who called for justice for US citizen George Floyd's murder at the hands of a policeman.

'How to be an ally' was searched more than 'how to be an influencer'. Searches for 'how to be an influencer' are consistently high every year. But this year was a little different – searches for 'how to be an ally' exceeded 'how to be an influencer' searches in June 2020.