What Google's 2022 'trending topics' tell us about ourselves and what we care about
Google's Year in Search is like a modern-day time capsule.

Google's 2022 Year in Search report shows what trended this year.
There's a lot you can tell about a person by their search history (unless they're a murder-mystery writer, in which case no one should jump to conclusions). And our search habits on the whole can tell us a lot about ourselves as a collective as well.
For better or for worse, what we look up on the internet is an indicator of what we care about, and Google's Year in Search report gives us some insight into what we cared about this past year.
There are reports for different countries as well as a global report. Let's start with what my fellow Americans looked up, shall we?
To be clear, these search terms were not the "top searches" or "most searched terms" on Google, but rather the top trending searches—the search terms that had a high spike in traffic over a sustained period of time as compared to the year before.
The top 10 trending searches for 2022 overall:
- Wordle
- Election results
- Betty White
- Queen Elizabeth
- Bob Saget
- Ukraine
- Mega Millions
- Powerball numbers
- Anne Heche
- Jeffrey Dahmer
For people, we had:
- Johnny Depp
- Will Smith
- Amber Heard
- Antonio Brown
- Kari Lake
- Anna Sorokin (Delvey)
- Chris Rock
- Andrew Tate
- Adam Levine
- Serena Williams
I just don't think there's even a need to comment about most of these. Yikes.
Movies are fun though!
- "Encanto"
- "Thor: Love and Thunder"
- "Top Gun: Maverick"
- "The Batman"
- "Everything Everywhere All at Once"
- "Black Adam"
- "Jurassic World Dominion"
- "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever"
- "Morbius"
- "Turning Red"
Aw, remember the "Turning Red" controversies, the "Encanto" obsessions and "Top Gun: Maverick" being surprisingly amazing?
And oof, "Black Panther: Wakanda Forever." What a beautifully done film.
Musicians and bands is an interesting mix:
- Adam Levine
- Mary J. Blige
- Lil Tjay
- Kendrick Lamar
- Migos
- Tommy Lee
- Kate Bush
- Ricky Martin
- Young Thug
- Foo Fighters
Let's move away from entertainment and head to food.
Here are the top recipe trends in the U.S. for 2022:
- Sugo
- Cincinnati chili
- Marry me chicken
- Quick pancake
- Mango pie
- Green goddess salad
- Jennifer Aniston salad
- Grinder sandwich
- Bella Hadid sandwich
- The Bear spaghetti
Marry me chicken? I might have to Google that myself. (Don't tell anyone, but I'm also going to Google "sugo" because I'm embarrassed to admit I have no idea what that is.)
Speaking of Googling things you don't know—want to see what definition searches trended in 2022?
- Rupee
- Oligarch
- Cacao
- Homer
- Recession
- Canny
- Foray
- Trove
- Saute
- Tacit
So curious about what prompted most of these trends.
All of the above can be found on the published Year in Search lists, but Google also sent us some trends that didn't make it into the list, such as:
Is it true that …
- Is it true that TikTok is posting drafts?
- Is it true that the pinky is the middle finger in China?
- Is it true that Putin has cancer?
- Is it true that coffee stunts your growth?
- Is it true that cats have nine lives?
- Is it true that Fortnite is ending?
- Is it true that Queen Elizabeth died?
- Is it true that Chuck Norris died?
- Is it true that if you dream about someone they went to sleep thinking about you?
- Is it true that Yahoo is shutting down?
What is …
- What is NATO?
- What is monkeypox?
- What is rsv?
- What is Wordle?
- What is aphasia?
- What is a NFT?
- What is a recession?
- What is vabbing?
- What is Roe v. Wade?
- What is the Wordle today?
How to be …
- How to be a good mother?
- How to be a better lover?
- How to be perfect?
- How to be an adult in relationships?
- How to be a verified fan on Ticketmaster?
- How to be a nun in BitLife?
- How to be emo?
- How to be that girl?
- How to be enough for someone?
- How to be a fashion designer in BitLife?
OK, wait. I am perpetually online and I have three teen/young adult kids. How have I never heard of BitLife when it's in two of these "How to be" trending searches?
I kind of love "How to be an adult in relationships?" Kudos to those trying.
Interestingly, many of the global trends were similar to the U.S. searches, showing how interconnected we all are. However, the global recipes trends are very different:
1. पनीर पसंदा (paneer pasanda)
2. Bolo caseiro (homemade cake)
3. Tuzlu kurabiye (salt cookie)
4. Overnight oats
5. zimtschnecken (cinnamon rolls)
6. Irmik helvası (semolina halva)
7. панкейки (pancakes)
8. Baba ganoush
9. Bulgur pilavı (bulgur rice)
10. Pasta salad
How fun is that?
It's been quite a year and it's good to take a moment to remember and reflect on all that's happened in 2022. There were a lot of big things—the war in Ukraine, the passing of Queen Elizabeth and Betty White, our collective obsession with Wordle, and more. It's also telling what's not in these trends—notably, most references to the COVID-19 pandemic (which we are still in, despite most people being over it at this point).
Kind of makes you wonder what trending searches 2023 will bring, doesn't it? Let's make "street tacos" and "world peace" happen, please.
There's a reason why some people can perfectly copy accents, and others can't
Turns out, there's a neurodivergent link.
A woman in black long sleeve shirt stands in front of mirror.
Have you ever had that friend who goes on vacation for four days to London and comes back with a full-on Queen's English posh accent? "Oooh I left my brolly in the loo," they say, and you respond, "But you're from Colorado!" Well, there are reasons they (and many of us) do that, and usually it's on a pretty subconscious level.
It's called "accent mirroring," and it's actually quite common with people who are neurodivergent, particularly those with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). According Neurolaunch, the self-described "Free Mental Health Library," "Accent mirroring, also known as accent adaptation or phonetic convergence, is the tendency to unconsciously adopt the accent or speech patterns of those around us. This linguistic chameleon effect is not unique to individuals with ADHD, but it appears to be more pronounced and frequent in this population."
Essentially, when people have conversations, we're constantly "scanning" for information—not just the words we're absorbing, but the inflection and tone. "When we hear an accent, our brains automatically analyze and categorize the phonetic features, prosody, and intonation patterns," writes Neurolaunch. For most, this does result in copying the accent of the person with whom we're speaking. But those with ADHD might be more sensitive to auditory cues. This, "coupled with a reduced ability to filter out or inhibit the impulse to mimic…could potentially explain the increased tendency for accent mirroring."
While the article explains further research is needed, they distinctly state that, "Accent mirroring in individuals with ADHD often manifests as an unconscious mimicry of accents in social situations. This can range from subtle shifts in pronunciation to more noticeable changes in intonation and speech rhythm. For example, a person with ADHD might find themselves unconsciously adopting a Southern drawl when conversing with someone from Texas, even if they’ve never lived in the South themselves."
People are having their say online. On the subreddit r/ADHDWomen, a thread began: "Taking on accents is an ADHD thing?" The OP shares, "My whole life, I've picked up accents. I, myself, never noticed, but everyone around me would be like, 'Why are you talking like that??' It could be after I watched a show or movie with an accent or after I've traveled somewhere with a different accent than my 'normal.'
They continue, "Apparently, I pick it up fast, but it fades out slowly. Today... I'm scrolling Instagram, I watch a reel from a comedian couple (Darcy and Jeremy. IYKYK) about how Darcy (ADHD) picks up accents everywhere they go. It's called ADHD Mirroring??? And it's another way of masking."
(The OP is referring to Darcy Michaels and his husband Jeremy Baer, who are both touring comedians based in Canada.)
Hundreds of people on the Reddit thread alone seem to relate. One comments, "Omfg I've done this my whole life; I'll even pick up on the pauses/spaces when I'm talking to someone who is ESL—but English is my first language lol."
Sometimes, it can be a real issue for those around the chameleon. "I accidentally mimicked a waitress's weird laugh one time. As soon as she was out of earshot, my family started to reprimand me, but I was already like 'oh my god I don’t know why I did that, I feel so bad.'"
Many commenters on TikTok were shocked to find out this can be a sign of ADHD. One jokes, "Omg, yes, at a store the cashier was talking to me and she was French. She's like 'Oh are you French too? No, I'm not lol. I'm very east coast Canada."
And some people just embrace it and make it work for them. "I mirror their words or phrase! I’m 30. I realized I start calling everyone sweetie cause my manager does & I work at coffee shop."
This article originally appeared in May.