Researchers have looked at the most searched words on the Internet since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic. From “leaven” to “sacrifice”, passing by the word “death”: these requests say a lot about the evolution of our state of mind.
- Since March 2020, researchers have seen an explosion in the number of certain queries on the Internet
- They reflect the changes in mindset and behavior linked to the Covid-19 epidemic
- They express the priority given to solidarity, to the simple life, to the return to the essential … and the fear of death.
Since March 2020, our online mindset and behaviors in the face of the Covid-19 epidemic have changed a lot. To be convinced, just take a look at the most typed queries on search engines and social networks.
In any case, this is what researchers from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and Harvard University have done. In an article published in a special issue of the journal Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies devoted to the pandemic, they explain how the study of the words we type on the Internet says a lot about our change in psychology and the evolution of our values.
help each other
First observation: the pandemic has led to an upsurge in community values and mutual aid. Thus the use of the word “help” (“help” in English) increased by 37% on Twitter after March 13, 2020, while the use of the word “share” (“sharing”) increased by 24%.
The use of the word “sacrifice”, “completely absent from pre-Covid American culture” also jumped. According to the study authors, this change shows that Americans place a higher value on the well-being of others, even if it means putting their own lives at risk. One example is people’s willingness to participate in large Black Lives Matter protests, even in the midst of a pandemic, says Noah Evers, a Harvard psychology student and lead author of the study.
Refocus on the essentials
The confinement has also had an impact on the way we approach our daily lives and on our desire to return to a simpler life, focused on the essentials, show the requests typed on the Internet. For example, the use of words referring to basic food, clothing and housing needs increased significantly in searches on Google, Twitter, Internet forums and blogs. For example, searches on Google increased 344% for “growing vegetables” and 207% for “sewing machine”.
But the word that has seen the most use during the pandemic is “sourdough”, a sign that baking bread has become a very popular activity during the confinement. Google searches for “sourdough” increased 384% after the pandemic began, and mentions on Twitter soared 460%. “Bread baking” also saw a big increase: 265% on Google and 453% on Twitter.
Death becomes ubiquitous
Internet activity has also revealed a dramatic increase in people’s concerns about death and bereavement. After March 13, when the death toll began to rise dramatically, search activity for the word “survive” increased by 47%, for “cemeteries” by 41%, for “burial” by 23% and for “death” 21%.
And in the 10 weeks since President Donald Trump’s declaration of emergency, the phrase “fear of death” was mentioned 115% more on Twitter than in the previous 10 weeks. “Death has gone from something taboo to something real and inevitable”analyzes Noah Evers.
Permanent changes?
It remains to be seen how long these changes will last. For the researchers, it is very likely that these behavioral trends will reverse as the threat of Covid-19 recedes and Americans feel more prosperous and secure. However, based on the aftermath of the Great Recession from 2007 to 2009, they predict that the changes will be more lasting for American teenagers and people in their twenties, whose values are more likely to be shaped by the pandemic. “Perhaps it means that today’s young people will create a country in the future that is more open to sharing and helping others, or simply that baking sourdough bread will always have a special place in our hearts. .”
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