As South Africans feel the economic pinch, Google has revealed that searches for “how to make money” were top of the searches in the “how to make” category in South Africa in 2022.
The tech giant released its search trends, revealing what South African look for on the internet.
Searches for “how to make money fast as a woman” have increased by 90%, while searches for “how to start a business from home” halved in South Africa.
ALSO READ: WATCH: Apple unveils iPhone 14 Pro and Pro Max with animated notches
Nitin Gajria, Google Africa Managing Director, said in the eight years since she joined Google she’s seen a few periods of global uncertainty, including the 2008 financial crisis, increasing frequency of climate-related disasters, and a global pandemic.
“Each brought their own degree of uncertainty – and each time, people turned to Google to seek out information and help them make decisions. We’re once again seeing search trends that show people are feeling unsure about the world around them.”
Gajria said while technology cannot solve all of the concern and anxiety that these trends show – but it can be used to help.
Other search trends
Google revealed that some other search trends in South Africa included concerns about Covid, the climate, cybersecurity and privacy online.
“With more people using the internet to manage their daily lives than ever, it’s no surprise that there has been an increase in searches about cybersecurity and privacy.”
“South African searches for ‘what is phishing’ increased by 80%, while searches for ‘phishing attack’ increased by 70%. Additionally, search interest around private browsing increased by 20% since this time last year, while searches for privacy have increased by 30% since this time last year.”
Google added that people want to understand the wider economic uncertainty – and are keen to save.
“As our CEO, Sundar Pichai, said recently, we face ‘an uncertain global economic outlook’. Search trends show that people want to better understand what’s happening and how they can manage it.
“We’ve seen this before. During the pandemic, businesses that adopted new digital skills built ‘a digital safety net’. Working in partnership with governments and other organisations, Google has helped 10 million people to find jobs, digitise and grow across the region – and we stand ready to support again now.”
Gajria said the trends show people feel uncertain about what lies ahead.
“I’m hopeful that technology will form a part of the solution. Our mission at Google to make information accessible and useful has never been more important,” she said.
