In 2022, the war in Ukraine dominated the Google searches of users from Austria. “The pandemic remains an important topic and continued to be the most requested topic after ‘Ukraine’. The World Cup in Qatar has also made it to the podium, not least because it is a very controversial topic,” said Wolfgang Fasching-Kapfenberger, spokesperson for Google Austria, at the presentation of the domestic Google annual review.
Other interesting topics included the federal presidential elections, referenda, major sporting events, the solar eclipse, the split between German social media personalities Bibi and Julian and the question “How old is Putin?”. Some prominent people had to be said goodbye, the news about the death of Red Bull founder Dietrich Mateschitz and Queen Elizabeth II in Austria touched the most here.
The top 10 search terms of the year in Austria were “Ukraine”, “Corona vaccination near me”, “WM”, “Olympia”, Dominic Thiem”, “Federal Presidential Election”, “Monkeypox”, “Vladimir Putin”, “Russia” and “Climate Change” Olympic snowboard champion Anna Gasser took second place behind tennis star Thiem among the in-demand local celebrities.
Many searches due to high energy costs
One trend was questions about climate, environment and energy, the most common searches here were “climate change”, “climate bonus”, “fuel price calculator”, “Wien Energie” and “EVN”. “Energy cost compensation” and “electricity price brake” came in ninth and tenth place.
Covid-19 remained an important topic, but unlike 2021, the term ‘corona’ was no longer at the top of the list, but the vaccination was being searched for. The first five places are “Corona vaccination in my area”, “Vaccination obligation”, “Valneva share”, “Green passport” and “Omicron symptoms”.
Great interest in the presidential election
Of the news items, the presidential election saw the biggest spike in searches, the Google Austria spokesperson reported. Next to “Cold Progression” and “Ragweed”, “People’s Petition” reached the top spot.
The top 10 international people in 2022 was a colorful mix of personalities from politics, sports and culture. At the top is Russian President Vladimir Putin, followed by tennis pro Novak Djokovic and Hollywood ex-couple Johnny Depp and Amber Heard. The Oscar night scandal battle is represented by searches for Will Smith and Chris Rock.
Many political and health questions
A separate category is “how-questions”, here “how long is a PCR test valid?” for “how old is Putin?” and “how long has it been recovered?” Corona was also at the top of the ′′ what questions ′′. : “Corona positive – what to do?” came before “What is NATO?” and the climate bonus rightly so, especially since users had not yet received it.
A “best of” of all queries formulated as questions was presented, including the question “Why am I so tired?”, which was frequently asked in the morning. Many people also wanted to know where the Leaning Tower of Pisa is and why they don’t get Corona. “Why were fake eyelashes invented?” also made the ranking.
Google compiles its annual “Year in Search” trends based on more than a trillion searches processed each year. All categories presented include the “most trending searches” in Austria, ie the search terms that have increased the most compared to the previous year.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
