It’s not fun to think of anyone keeping track of your Google search history, but that’s exactly what the search engine does.
The upside is we can get the inside scoop into the topics that had the country looking for more throughout the year.
On Wednesday, Google released Australia’s annual Year in Search lists, revealing what the nation has been searching in 2022.
The top searches reflect a year full of change and hardship, with celebrity deaths and international war top of mind (or search bar) for many.
But there was plenty of good to help balance out the bad, with Australians finding solace in looking up sport and mobile games.
The top 10 Google searches overall were:
1. Wordle
This online guessing game went viral at the end of 2021, and its popularity has largely kept up this year despite controversial changes made by new owner, The New York Times.
2. Australian Open
This year’s Open was full of highs and lows as the competition adjusted to post-pandemic life. Some players complained about quarantine conditions, while local big names Ash Barty, Dylan Alcott and Nick Kyrgios did the country proud.
3. World Cup
The FIFA World Cup is held every four years, and with an honourable performance from the Socceroos and backlash over this year’s host nation, it seems Australians were keen to keep track of the latest updates.
4. Shane Warne
The death of this sporting legend took Australia by surprise, and prompted a flood of tributes from fans, politicians, and athletes alike.
5. Ukraine
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine outraged the world, and has had a huge ripple effect on petrol prices and everyday cost of living.
6. Novak Djokovic
The modern-day tennis legend’s unvaccinated status marred this year’s Australian Open, and eventually had him sent packing from Australia without getting the chance to compete.
7. The Ashes
Australia is a country of sport-lovers, as our collective Google search history shows. Cricket lovers flocked to the search engine for more information about the biennial event, with Australia emerging victorious.
8. Ash Barty
The local tennis favourite had a cracker start to the year, before making a surprise retirement announcement.
9. Olivia Newton-John
The much-loved Grease star died surrounded by loved ones after several cancer battles, and continued to do good after her death with donations for her cancer research foundation requested in lieu of flowers.
10. Betty White
The year was off to a sad start after the beloved Golden Girls star died less than three weeks before her 100th birthday.
More Google insights
While searches for information about natural disasters didn’t crack the top 10, Google found Australians searched for ‘Floods’, ‘La Niña’, and ‘When will the rain stop’ at record levels this year.
A focus on news searches shows the Ukraine, the federal election and Omicron symptoms were top of mind for many.
Australians were also looking to get their creative juices flowing this year, with paper poppers, pom poms, friendship bracelets, ninja stars and paper cranes rounding out the top five ‘How to make …’ DIY queries.
People looking for help in the kitchen looked up how to cook tripe, corn on the cob and bunya nuts the most. And three years on from the start of the pandemic, Australians still had burning questions like, ‘Can you get COVID twice’, ‘How long does COVID last’, and ‘Can dogs get COVID’.
