Counting Google Searches for Boredom and Loneliness

Whew, most interesting ... or a more general privacy invasion that can be leveraged?

How Google Searches Reveal the Hidden Cost of Lockdown

University of Warwick (U.K.), January 27, 2021

Researchers at the U.K.'s University of Warwick, Canada's University of Ottawa, and France's Paris School of Economics and Aix-Marseille University found that Google Trends data from 10 countries across Europe and the U.S. between January 2019 and April 2020 demonstrated the impact of pandemic lockdowns on mental health. The researchers observed a sharp increase in the number of people searching on Google for terms related to boredom, loneliness, and worry at the beginning of the first lockdown. Said the University of Warwick’s Nick Powdthavee, "Our findings indicate that people’s mental health may have been severely affected by the pandemic and lockdown.” Powdthavee added, “It may be necessary to make sure support is provided to help those struggling most with lockdown.”