Semrush Index: Mental Health, War On Drugs And Sustainability Dominate Global Online Concerns

The 2023 Annual Global Issues Index recently released by Semrush Holdings, Inc. SEMR spotlights the most-searched societal concerns on Google GOOGL between January 2019 and June 2023. Co-authored with Columbia professor Jeremy Kagan, the study reveals trends across 35 countries from a pool of 24 core societal issues.

Key findings:

• Mental health, the war on drugs and sustainability have emerged as the topmost global major concerns, followed by public health, pollution, education, unemployment, inflation, migration and energy.
• U.S. searches spotlight unemployment as the most pressing issue, followed by mental health, the war on drugs, public health, and sustainability.
• Europe witnessed a surge in online searches about energy, pollution, sustainability, and the war on drugs over the past three years.
• The Oceania region saw mental health with the war on drugs and sustainability as concerns climbing since 2021.
• In the Middle East, education, college debt and mental health have seen the most substantial growth, whereas in Africa and Asia, pollution, sustainability and mental health emerged at the forefront.

Mental health’s prominence as the leading global issue underscores the mounting psychological strains in contemporary society, intensified possibly by the COVID-19 pandemic and socio-economic challenges. It is no coincidence that the war on drugs and sustainability are searches that complete the top three of the Index, as failed prohibitionist policies exacerbate mental health issues and environmental concerns reflect a universal vulnerability to the impacts of climate change.

Kagan highlighted the utility of search volume as a lens to view global concerns. “Protests, local news, segment surveys, and political debate give some indication, but search volume is an amazing way to gain deeper insights on what populations are concerned with.” 

The trends in the study not only spotlight immediate concerns but also provide a view of the shifting landscapes of public interest and discourse across diverse nations. Drawing from over 157,000 keywords, phrases and queries related to the 24 core issues, the Index serves as a compass, offering data-driven insights into pressing societal concerns.

Armed with this knowledge, policymakers and business leaders can design strategies, allocate resources effectively and launch targeted initiatives to address root causes and facilitate impactful social transformations for global improvement.

Photo by Sandra Seitamaa on Unsplash