by Thinus Ferreira
It's a Barbie world according to Google that revealed its most searched-for terms by South Africans during 2023 - a list also topped by searches about the sensational criminal Thabo Bester, rapper AKA who was murdered, as well as the country's national rugby team.
Google South Africa released its annual 2023 Year in Search data, revealing that celebrities - some famous and some notorious - sports stars and sporting events once again dominated South Africans' searches online during the past year.
The year's Cricket
and Rugby World Cups soared to the top of the most searched sporting events by
South Africans this year, while the 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, the rapper and producer Kiernan Forbes, known as AKA topped the search list after his horrific murder in Durban in February.
Another South
African rapper Costantinos Tsobanoglou, better known as Costa Titch was the
second most searched individual in the "loss" category. The category also included the Carte Blanche anchor Derek Watts, broadcaster Eusebius Mckaiser, and politician Mangosuthu Buthelezi.
After
conquering the box office worldwide, the Barbie film soared to the top of South Africa's
most searched movies and TV shows, followed by the biographical thriller
film, Oppenheimer.
MultiChoice and M-Net's big-budget drama series Shaka Ilembe which made its first season debut on Mzansi Magic (DStv 161) also made the most-searched list in the TV and film category in third place.
The notorious criminal Thabo Bester and media
personality and popular DJ, Cyan Boujee were the top two most searched
individuals in the country, with both appearing in headlines various 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 2023 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?" were 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.
In technology, people were interested in finding out more about MultiChoice's DStv Stream service which is watching the pay-TV operator's content without a satellite dish, the Titan disaster in June when a deep-sea submarine going to the Titanic imploded, as well as the new social media service Threads which launched as a competitor to X which was formerly known as Twitter.
Top 10 people searched in 2023
1. Thabo Bester
2. Cyan Boujee
3. Nadia Nakai
4. Dr Nandipha Magudumana
5. Andrew Tate
6. Derick Hougaard
7. Steve Harvey
8. Sim Dope
9. Anele Tembe
10. Tyla
Top searched Loss in 2023
1. AKA
2. Costa Titch
3. Matthew Perry
4. Tina Turner
5. Derek Watts
6. Titanic submarine
7. Zoleka Mandela
8. Mangosuthu Buthelezi
9. Christian Atsu
10. Eusebius Mckaiser
11. Olive Barker
12. Angie Oeh
Top 10 movies and TV shows searched in 2023
1. Barbie movie
2. Oppenheimer
3. Shaka Ilembe
4. John Wick 4
5. Fast X
6. Queen Charlotte Bridgerton
7. The Last of Us
8. Creed 3
9. Fatal Seduction
10. Kaleidoscope
Top 10 most searched athletes in
2023
1. Springboks
2. Siya Kolisi
3. Bongi Mbonambi
4. Faf de Klerk
5. Eben Etzebeth
6. Cheslin Kolbe
7. Ox Nche
8. Hakimi
9. Roger Federer
10. Ronaldo
Top 10 sporting events searched
in 2023
1. Cricket world cup
2. Rugby world cup
3. Inter Miami
4. Banyana banyana
5. Kaizer Chiefs vs Mamelodi Sundowns
6. Wimbledon 2023
7. Liverpool vs Man United
8. Al nassr
9. Netball world cup
10. Jake Paul vs Tommy Fury
Top searches related to
technology in 2023
1. DStv Stream
2. iPhone 15
3. Google's 25th birthday
4. Titanic submarine
5. Samsung 23
6. Samsung a14
7. Whatsappgb
8. Threads
