By Rachael Kelley and Alex Hemmer
BU News Service
Celebrating the day of love is not as exciting as people may think. Some dread the day while others could not be happier that it exists. The kind of advice people look for online is one way that varied opinions across the country are reflected, according to findings on Google Trends.
While more predictable date-night-related searches were made, other topics that came up on Google since Jan. 1 ranged from marriage proposals to breaking up.
By Thursday, approximately 2,330 searches were conducted mentioning the phrase “how to propose,” averaging at 55 searches per day.
A year ago, South Dakota was listed as the state with the highest number of marriage proposal-related searches, amounting to a total of 60 searches. This year, they were edged out by District of Columbia, which had 100 searches.
More specific proposal-related phrases searched this year include, “how to get him to propose,” which turned up with 1,396 searches, although the numbers have almost consistently fluctuated every other day. Demographics of those who made these searches were not available.
While many may be eager to make a lifetime commitment to their significant other, others are thinking about moving on alone.
North Carolina was reported to have the most searches for the phrase, “how to know when to break up,” with 98 searches being made on Jan. 6, 100 searches on Jan. 21 and 92 on Jan. 27. On the contrary, California appeared to be the state that asked the question the least.
States that did not make the list due to insufficient data included Wyoming, North Dakota, Delaware, Maine, Vermont, Montana and Alaska. Additionally, data for U.S. territories Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands were not included.
Though the data may be inconsistent, it may serve as a reminder of the mixed sentiments around the country this time of year, despite the widely recognized celebration of love being around the corner.
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