Search engine giant Yahoo India on Friday released its “Search in the Lockdown” report, comparing what users in India searched for right before the country went into lockdown a month ago and the new search priorities that have emerged since.
One of the most notable changes comes across as Indo-American actress Priyanka Chopra Jonas has been replaced by Kanika Kapoor – the much talked-about Bollywood singer who contracted coronavirus in London, who came back to India and kept partying with politicians and people.
Before the lockdown, Priyanka, followed by Deepika Padukone and Katrina Kaif, made for the most searched female celebrity in the country, Yahoo India said in its report.
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Interestingly, the long-going Internet feud of “more searched” between Indian megastars Amitabh Bachchan and Rajnikanth also arrived at an outcome after the lockdown, with the former winning by extra search numbers. Aged 77, Amitabh recently landed into a bowl of troll-trouble after re-tweeting a now deleted viral superstitious message on social media which was labelled as fake news on Twitter.
Amitabh Bachchan spreading fake news pic.twitter.com/CMuXZ9vK0E
— Multiple Attitude Dude (@mAd___00) March 23, 2020
@priyankachopra replaced as most searched Indian celeb by #Covid19 survivor #KanikaKapoor amid lockdown. @SrBachchan also replaces #Rajnikanth as most top male celeb. #Ramanaya -- most searched soap. @YahooIndia @SputnikInt pic.twitter.com/sDelUUymFf
— Radhika Parashar (@_RadhikaReports) April 24, 2020
In addition, a re-run of the screen presentation of “Ramayana” on national television amid the lockdown got people digging up more information about the epic story of Lord Rama. The religiously significant series was first launched in 1987 and is being re-telecast during the lockdown.
"Man is knowledge and women is 'Maya'( Illusion ) thats why Knowledge (Man) can get attracted towards Maya( women) but Maya never get attracted towards another Maya."
— Rahul Hampras (@rahulhampras) April 22, 2020
A fantastic quote from Uttar Ramayan.#Ramayana #UttarRamayan #Ramayan pic.twitter.com/vrOZHFo4W2
After the amusement-loving Indians are done with their daily doses of entertainment-town gossip, they also look for informative material online.
For instance, keywords like COVID-19 updates, symptoms of COVID-19, COVID-19 treatment, COVID-19 death toll, hydroxychloroquine for the coronavirus, and social distancing emerged as the most searched, Yahoo India noted.
According to @YahooIndia 's analysis, #COVID19 related keywords emerged as the most searched keywords on web.
— Radhika Parashar (@_RadhikaReports) April 24, 2020
Work from home office tools also surfaced on the top of the net search. @SputnikInt pic.twitter.com/eNwDOxFTL6
Since 1.37 billion Indians are locked up inside their homes for over a month, professionals are working from home and relaxing with content streaming platforms.
Office tool apps like Zoom and Skype, along with over-the-top (OTT) platforms including Amazon Prime and Netflix, have surfaced as the most looked up options in their segments respectively.
Here is @YahooIndia 's list of top OTT players and most searched questions on the internet. @NetflixIndia @amazonprimenow @DisneyPlusHS @justvoot @ZEE5India @SputnikInt pic.twitter.com/XfNZRpya5k
— Radhika Parashar (@_RadhikaReports) April 24, 2020
And, of course, “India and food” make for a never-ending love story, one of its kind, Indians are also jamming the Internet looking for new recipes to cook every day. Dalgona coffee, cakes, and cooking instructions for cottage cheese curries rule the web.
Hey why isnt #PaniPuri and #Momos here????? @YahooIndia @SputnikInt pic.twitter.com/NW6fYaAnPn
— Radhika Parashar (@_RadhikaReports) April 24, 2020
Yahoo India’s report clearly shows that Indians have been keeping tabs on the news – especially around the coronavirus. Under the precautionary lockdown, which was announced on 25 March as a measure to stop the further spread of COVID-19, Indians are learning the importance of self-reliance, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also observed and shared.
