• As 2023 draws to a close, Google celebrates a quarter century since launching its search engine.
• Worldwide, more people were googling the war in Israel and Gaza and the Ocean Gate tragedy than anything else this year.
• In South Africa, Thabo Bester, the Spingboks and Barbenheimer were the top searches of the year.

The year 2023 marks the 25th anniversary of Google launching Search, the product that made the company a household name and changed how people use the internet. Worldwide, the most searched topic of 2023 on Google was the conflict escalation in Israel and Gaza, followed by the doomed voyage of the Ocean Gate submarine and her passengers.

American footballer Damar Hamlin was the most searched name, showing again the massive influence American net users have on the internet, following a sport played in only one country on Earth. The most searched passing was Friends star Matthew Perry, the most searched TV show was The Last of Us, the most searched game was Hogwarts Legacy, and Barbie and Oppenheimer were the first and second most searched movies worldwide.

In South Africa, Google Search trends mirrored those the world over, except for a few local differences. For example, the most searched person for South Africans is murderer Thabo Bester, following the highly publicised ongoing trial involving him and his ex-girlfriend Nandipha Magudumana.

Barbie and Oppenheimer were still the top searched in terms of movies and TV shows in South Africa, with the third place spot going to local production Shaka Ilembe, a semi-historical account of the rise of King Shaka and his forebears.

AKA was the top searched passing in South Africa. The highly successful artist was murdered in full public view, with the CCTV footage of the slaying being passed around online for days following the shocking act.

The rest of the top search trends all involve the most winningest team in rugby, the Springboks, who brought home a record fourth world title in this year’s rugby world cup. The sporting event was a cultural movement in South Africa, and touched other aspects such as technology – with the top tech search trend this year being DStv Stream, which announced an 80 percent discount for its subscription price ahead of the final match between South Africa and New Zealand.

Smartphone wise, South Africans were more interested in the latest iPhone this year than the latest Samsung flagship, and the nation continues to ask important questions with one of the top queries of the year being the esoteric “How is knowledge created?” Thousands of people asked the Google machine this, as well as “How is heritage day celebrated in South Africa essay?” I guess this was a popular English homework exercise.

“Springboks” was the top searched athletes of the year in SA, followed by the biggest names of the rugby team, starting with Captain Siya Kolisi and followed by Bongi Mbonambi, himself embroiled in a strange altercation with an English player.

Interestingly, however, the most searched sporting event wasn’t the Rugby World Cup 2023, and instead was the Cricket World Cup, which followed the rugby by a few weeks and saw South Africa eliminated in the semi-finals. The event ended with abject disappointment for the world’s second most populous nation and hosts as Australia beat India in the finals to silence from the stands.

Check out the full top Google Searches for South Africa in 2023:

[Image – World Rugby on X]