The number of 'mask' searches increased unprecedented due to the influence of the new coronavirus



In the West, it was not common to wear a 'mask' to go out, but the influence of the new coronavirus is changing the conventional wisdom. As the epidemic of the new coronavirus became a problem, the number of searches for 'masks' in Google searches surged, Web media Mashable reported.

Google searches for 'face mask' hit all-time high due to coronavirus

https://mashable.com/article/google-search-trends-face-mask-coronavirus/

As Covid-19 Spreads, Amazon Tries to Curb Mask Price Gouging | WIRED
https://www.wired.com/story/covid-19-amazon-curb-face-mask-price-gouging/

' Google Trend ' is a service that allows you to check the words that are searched a lot on Google, and the trends in the number of searches for specific words. Mashable reported the fact that the number of searches for 'Face mask' in the United States suddenly increased. The change in the number of Google searches for Face mask from the time of service start from 2004 to February 2020 is as follows, the vertical axis is not the number of searches, but the percentage when the period with the most searches is 100. is showing. From this graph, you can understand at a glance that the number of searches has nearly doubled from December 2019 to February 2020.



If you change the period to 'past 12 months', it looks like this. The largest number of searches were from January 26 to February 1, 2020, and the number of searches was 2.5 times higher than before.



The fluctuations in the number of 'mask' searches in Japan are as follows. Since around January 2020, the number of searches has literally 'exploded'.



If you switch the period to 'Last 12 months', you can see that the number of searches between February 2nd and February 8th, 2020 is 10 times the number of searches between January 12th and January 18th. I will.



Mashable said there is a correlation, though it is 'unclear if the surge in search numbers has a causal relationship to the new coronavirus epidemic.' In late January 2020, when the number of searches increased sharply, news about the new coronavirus increased, and at the same time, hoaxes and conspiracy theories were actively shouted on SNS.

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) expressed concern that the epidemic of the new coronavirus could spread to the United States, but masked it to the general public, according to Webd Wired, a web media reporter on masks. Not recommended to wear. However, since 'people wearing masks' are reflected in the news report on the new coronavirus, Americans are paying attention to the effect of masks. Because of that attention, Mashable's view is that the number of searches for masks has skyrocketed. Regarding the effect of the important mask, The New York Times reports the expert's opinion that 'the most effective way to prevent the new coronavirus is to wash your hands frequently'.

However, Mashable notes that 'Google searches are useless when looking up information about the effectiveness of masks.' The reason is that if you search for a mask on Google, you will get a page that sells the mask online. At the time of writing the article, when I actually searched Google for 'mask' in Japanese, the result was as follows.



In Japan, there is a rapid increase in demand for masks due to anxiety about the new coronavirus, which has become a social phenomenon due to continuous purchase and resale. The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, in collaboration with the National Mask Manufacturers Association, announced that it is okay not to buy up masks and deliver more than 100 million masks every week in public-private partnerships.

New Coronavirus Infectious Diseases Measures-Request Regarding Masks
(PDF file) https://www.mhlw.go.jp/content/10900000/000594878.pdf



in Web Service, Posted by darkhorse_log