Load shedding, elections and the Rugby World Cup: what SA searched for in 2019

With the year and decade coming to an end, Google revealed what South Africans spent their time searching for over the past twelve months, and ten years.

“This year’s trending searches show South Africans’ keen interest in the world and people around them. Pop culture, sports and politics captured the nation’s attention,” Google said.

In fact, with the hype surrounding this year’s Rugby World Cup final, one of South Africa’s top trending questions was “what time is the rugby world cup final”.

Elections also took place this year, so questions like “what time do voting stations open”, “who won the election in South Africa” and “how many votes for a seat in parliament” trended as well.

Unsurprisingly, with Eskom’s current electricity crisis, the year’s top trending search was “load shedding” followed by “election results” and fictional Marvel villain “Thanos”.

Movie searches particularly saw Avengers: Endgame, Captain Marvel and Netflix’s When They See Us take the top spots too.

Meanwhile, following Jonny Clegg’s death, the beloved South African musician became the country’s most searched music personality, followed by Thami Shobede and Nipsey Hussle.

With a dwindling unemployment rate, South Africans also searched for “job openings near me” this year, along with “parks near me” and “restaurant near me”.

Over the past 10 years, we also wanted to know “how to make slime”, “why were cornflakes invented” and “how to get rid of belly fat”.

Other trending names and moments from our recent history included Fiona Viotti, Black Friday specials, Faf De Klerk, Game of Thrones and Meghan Markle.

From the data, it’s clear that South Africans love to stay up to date with both local and international news. We also have an oddly keen interest in slime and cornflakes.

Feature image: Google Go, by Google