As the 2021 is coming to an end, Google has gladly to share some insights about the 2021 Year in Search for Malaysia where we can look at the top trending searches for this year.
“Search helps us find information and the way Malaysians use Search can be a window into the world. Malaysia’s 2021 Year in Search gives us a look into how we’re recovering as a nation. While COVID-19 is still top of mind, the focus has shifted towards vaccination and resuming business operations; financial aid remains a strong theme as Malaysians seek help; digital learning search terms spiked this year as Malaysians adapted to online learning and we continued to search for ways to be connected and entertained through TV shows and sports,” says Nadia Khan, Communications Manager at Google Malaysia.
So, let’s learn more about what has moments, people, topics, events, and places that Malaysians cared about this year at below.
A year of financial aid
This year’s top trending searches list takes a page out of last year’s with a number of searches on financial aid and incentives making it into the Top 10 – in fact, they make up half of the list with ‘i-Sinar’ being the number one trending term for 2021, accompanied by ‘i-CItra’, ‘Bantuan Prihatin Rakyat’, ‘i-Akaun’ and ‘Bantuan Prihatin Nasional’. With the prolonged movement restrictions significantly impacting businesses and families, information on these financial aids were sought after by Malaysians as they attempted to get back on their feet.
The rest of the terms on the list are a mix of entertainment and sports – ‘Euro 2021’, ‘Popcat’, ‘English Premier League’, and ‘Squid Game’. ‘Google Meet’ also makes it onto the list at seventh place as video conferencing became a big part of daily life.
COVID-19 is still top of mind but with a different focus than 2020
While 2020 was a year where people were trying to understand the virus and its impact, 2021 search terms shifted towards vaccinations and resuming business operations with the top trending terms for this category – ‘CIMS 3.0’, ‘COVID Vaccine Near Me’, and ‘COVID-19 Malaysia’.
The ramping up of our National Immunisation Programme has Malaysians turning to Search to learn more about the different vaccines being offered and how it was impacting our recovery statistics, as reflected in some of the other trending terms from this category – ‘Semakan Vaksin’ ‘AstraZeneca Vaccine’, ‘COVIDNOW’, and ‘Sinovac Vaccine’.
Malaysians continue to enjoy their sporting events, athletes and entertainment
2021 brought us more sporting events in general – from ‘Euro 2021’, the ‘Sudirman Cup 2021’ and the ‘Olympics 2021’ to football staples such as the ‘English Premier League’, the ‘Copa America’, the ‘UEFA Champions League’ and ‘Liga Super’.
While it is not unusual for people to trend, this year was unique in that there was a spike in searches for athletes.
Our very own local athletes ‘Lee Zii Jia’ and ‘Azizulhasni Awang’ took top spots in this trending list. Malaysians were also curious to know more about ‘Christian Eriksen’s momentary collapse during Denmark’s Euro 2020 opener against Finland and Britain’s ‘Tom Daley’ knitting in between diving events at the Tokyo Olympics.
Searches spiked for digital learning tools
Education is a theme that’s certainly important to 2021. 2020 was a catalyst to rapidly transitioning physical classes into home-based teaching and learning on a global scale. This year, searches spiked for digital learning tools as Malaysians sought creative ways to make lessons engaging.
‘Education’ , a search theme unique to 2021, points to signs that Malaysians adapted to digital learning tools to make the remote classroom experience engaging.
In 2021, we see various teaching engagement and classroom management tools show up on our top trending terms. ‘Google Classroom’ in the first spot and ‘DELIMa KPM’ in third, have been platforms facilitating digital learning. Also trending this year are ‘Blooket’, a tool which makes trivia and review in the classroom fun; ‘Wordwall’, a fresh resource to help teachers create custom classroom activities; and ‘ClassPoint’, a tool to create interactive quizzes to improve engagement and learning outcomes.
For a look at the full list and other trending categories – entertainment, financial aid, topical news, and ‘how’ questions as searched by Malaysia – visit g.co/2021trends/MY.
Credited to Google