Google sees inside our soul

Regular readers will be aware of a few facts about our little lockdown bubble. These are a) that I’m exercising online with Joe Wicks; b) Brian and Robbie are working out regularly with weights and c) I’m trying  - not altogether successfully - to grow vegetables.

Turns out everyone else is doing pretty much the same thing.

According to recent Google search data we’re a resourceful nation with great plans for using this lockdown time to good effect. The gyms may have closed, but not to be thwarted we’ll carry on exercising the best we can in the space we have available. 

Not surprisingly, then, the search term “rent gym equipment” is going through the roof. In fact it has mushroomed by a whopping 3,600 per cent over the past 90 days while “yoga online classes” has risen by 800 per cent and "home workout” by 700 per cent.

Google also reveals that we won’t be put off by food shortages in supermarkets: instead we’ll grow or bake our own. The search term: “grow plants” has boomed by 1,150 per cent while searches for “allotments” is up by 575 per cent. And “baking recipes” and “local farm delivery” are also on the rise, presumably by well-meaning people determined to reduce their carbon footprint while producing delicious home-baked grub into the bargain.

But sadly, the items we seek are proving increasingly difficult to come by. Gym equipment, vegetable seeds, healthy farm foods and flour are all either in short supply or are so astronomically priced that they are no longer viable. 

So many of us are moving to Plan B – namely, vegging out on the sofa watching box-sets and overeating.

The second and third fastest-growing Google search terms after “rent gym equipment” are: “pubs delivering food near me” and: “fish and chips near me”. Also growing rapidly are: “Netflix”, “banana cake” and: “how to lose weight”.

The data also paints a picture of a nation of people with mad hair and little hope of a holiday. The search term “hairdresser” has plummeted while “hairdresser scissors” has soared. And the numbers of people searching for “city breaks” “camping sites” and “taxi to airport” are declining fast while rather charmingly, the term “virtual holiday” is up by 55 per cent. Fancy an imaginary trip to the Bahamas, anyone?

Source: https://www.rebootonline.com