Here’s What Pakistanis are Searching on Google During Corona Crisis

According to a research report by the Pakistan Institute of Development Economics, coronavirus related searches have trumped all other searches globally after the outbreak in China in December 2019.

The premier research agency of Pakistan in its research blog authored by Mr. Omer Siddique highlighted that the search term ‘coronavirus’ is by far the most searched term on the internet. The outbreak of COVID-19 has sparked both curiosity and fear among the people.

The related concerns are coronavirus cure, the impact of coronavirus on the economy, hygiene or sanitizer, lockdown, and quarantine.

The research report highlights the terms searched on Google since the coronavirus became a global concern. The interest surged toward the end of January, so the research agency observes the trends starting from January 25.

It is pertinent to mention that ‘Google Trends’ does not directly report the number of searches. Rather, it reports search “intensity” or “research interest over time”, said the report.

According to Google Trends,

[these] numbers represent search interest relative to the highest point on the chart for the given region and time. A value of 100 is the peak popularity for the term. A value of 50 means that the term is half as popular. A score of 0 means that there was not enough data for this term.

Economy-related Search

The economy-related search terms, such as ‘recession’, ‘stock market’, ‘US dollar’, and ‘oil prices’ picked up in intensity worldwide on March 9. It highlighted that this was the time when coronavirus cases started to grow exponentially in Italy, the USA, and the world over. The interest in oil prices also shows a spike because it was around that time that the oil war between Saudi Arabia and Russia intensified

Pakistanis, like the rest of the world, were also concerned about the effects of coronavirus on the economy. The interest in the exchange rate – the grey line in figure below – reflects in Google search trends in Pakistan.

Tackling Coronavirus

The report highlighted the search trends for ‘coronavirus cure’, ‘sanitizer’, ‘soap’, ‘quarantine’, and ‘lockdown’ in Pakistan or anywhere else in the world.

The meaning of the term quarantine has piqued the interest of people both globally and in Pakistan. In Pakistan, probably not many people knew the meaning of quarantine, which suggests a rise in the search for this term noted the report. The surge in searches for sanitizer came later because perhaps it was around that time when the shortage of sanitizers started in Pakistan.

Coronavirus and Prayer Related Searches

The report emphasized that the pattern between coronavirus and prayer related searches appeared to be strong. The searches for ‘Duas’ have surged starting from the end of February. There is a spike for Pakistan, again, on February 27 because the first coronavirus case in Pakistan was officially declared on February 26.

Mr. Omer Siddique compared Google search trends between coronavirus and PSL in Pakistan. He highlighted that interest in PSL dwindled only recently when the event was postponed.

Because of the lack of recreational activities, Pakistani people show unprecedented interest in the events that provide them with an opportunity to relax, away from daily activities, or struggles, he highlighted.

The purpose of this blog was just to show the search trends he added. The comparison between worldwide searches and Pakistan searches show more than words can say. Lastly, he highlighted that when the world was searching for coronavirus,  Pakistanis were busy searching about SEX.