the Springboks dominated the list of most-searched athletes. Picture: Getty Images
If you are wondering what piqued South Africans’ interest the most this year, who was the top trending individual over the last 12 months, or which movies, TV shows and sporting events were trending the most in the country, Google’s got it covered.
With 2023 coming to an end, Thabo Bester, the Cricket World Cup, Barbie, AKA, Celine Dion and the Springboks led this year’s annual trends on Search.
This year, the world’s biggest search engine celebrated 25 years of Search, a milestone which has provided nearly two decades of trends data to draw from.
Google said the Year in Search provides an annual analysis that reveals the top trending lists and also spotlights what the world searches to see, learn and do.
“In South Africa, this years’ results show a heightened interest in celebrities, sporting events, special observed days, notable personalities who have passed on and technology.”
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Google’s data shows that cricket and rugby world cups soared to the top of the most searched sporting events by South Africans this year, while Springboks reigned supreme on the most searched athlete lists.
The Rugby World Cup and Inter Miami also captured significant interest, claiming the second and third spots on the lists respectively.
Among celebrities and media personalities who passed away this year, rapper, producer and businessman Kiernan Forbes, also known as AKA, topped the search list for loss.
Another South African rapper, Costantinos Tsobanoglou, better known as Costa Titch, was the second- most searched individual in this category.
After conquering the box office worldwide, Barbie, soared to the top of South Africa’s most searched movies and TV shows, followed by the epic biographical thriller film, Oppenheimer and the gripping series Shaka Ilembe.
Thabo Bester and media personality and popular DJ, Cyan Boujee, were the top 2 most-searched individuals in the country, with both appearing in headlines several times in the past 12 months.
While South Africans were eager to know the dates of upcoming events like Father’s Day, Mother’s Day and the Rugby World Cup final, their online searches also revealed a diverse range of interests, including literary comparisons and health concerns.
“How is poetry different to other writing genres?” and “How are mumps spread?” are the top second and third top general questions that South Africans were searching for answers to. Interestingly, the most searched general question this year concerned Celine Dion’s well-being.
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