We the people are so predictable, so it should come as little surprise that some human behaviors are so common that an in-depth dive into Google’s recently released search data proves that our shared consciousness is indeed some sort of Internet-identified hive mind.
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At what time do we turn to Google to search the “weather” or “porn”? According to new Google data and an excellent deep dive written by Seth Stephens-Davidowitz in The New York Times, “weather” searches peak before 5:30 a.m. in New York while “porn” searches peak after midnight.
Searches for “suicide” peak at 12:36 a.m. while people Google “why is my poop green?” before and after the traditional workday and “forgot password” after 2 a.m.
The first-of-its-kind data from Google is fascinating, and even though Stephens-Davidowitz was using New York data for the above surges in searches, we Americans are more alike than we are different, as he points out:
Mostly, people in different parts of the United States and the world are very similar in how we search. For example, every part of the world I looked at consumes more news first thing in the morning than at any other time of the day.
Stephens-Davidowitz has fun with the data, pointing out that we trend toward the big life questions — “What is the meaning of consciousness?” — in the late-night hours. Perhaps that late-night curiosity is inspired by another popular a.m. search, which asks Google to show us how to roll a joint.
The data shows that the hours between 2 and 4 a.m. are prime time for big questions: What is the meaning of consciousness? Does free will exist? Is there life on other planets? The popularity of these questions late at night may be a result, in part, of cannabis use. Search rates for “how to roll a joint” peak between 1 and 2 a.m.
The story points out “one very important weakness in the data:”
Google releases only search rates, not the total number of searches. If a search rate for a word is highest at 3 a.m., it means that of all the searches at that time, an unusually large percentage of them include that word. Another important weakness of the data: Our searches most definitely do not capture every activity. If you have a regular yoga appointment at noon, you may not need to make any searches about it.
It’s true: If you already roll the perfect joint, why would you Google it?
For those who still need a joint-rolling lesson, we have your back.
In this educational video, Cannabist columnist Whoopi Goldberg will teach you how to roll the perfect joint.