As it does each year, Google released the top search trends for 2020. Searches that showed a dramatic increase over 2019 included those related to “panic attack” a reference to how the media terrorized people about COVID.
Another trending search was those similar to “hug,” that addressed the isolation that people felt because of enforced lockdowns. And along with this, “puppies” also trended for a while as people sought answers to their loneliness.
Searches related to “prayer” also became popular as people looked for answers that politicians are struggling to provide.
The Daily Mail provides more of the details:
Positive terms such as ‘hope’, ‘hug’ and ‘prayer’ peaked on Google search in 2020 at the expense of ‘party’ and ‘festival’ thanks to the country being in lockdown.
A year on from the start of the first coronavirus lockdown, Google has released some of the search trends spanning the past 12 months.
Searches for ‘hope’, ‘hug’ and ‘prayer’ were dramatically higher in 2020 than in most years, particularly ‘hug’, with people missing the opportunity to be close to family and friends.
The results paint a picture of the mood of a nation, with searches for ‘panic attack’, ‘hypochondriasis’ and ‘how to help’ also reaching a new high, according to Google.
OpentheWord.org 
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