What the UK has learnt in lockdown

  • 6 min read
What the UK has learnt in lockdown

As the global lockdown due to the Coronavirus continues to keep people indoors, the online world has seen some huge surges. Stuck inside people are now turning to the internet to learn new skills.

Using Google search data, we reveal what Brits have been learning how to do during the last six weeks.

The UK has searched for “how to” topics on google twice as much as they did this time last year. Here’s a breakdown;

Top 10 “How to” searches in the UK during lockdown

  1. How to draw

Brits are picking up their pencils and tuning into their inner artists, with 100% more people searching for how to draw than this time last year.

Man with painting of captain Tom

  1. How to make bread

Flour has been like gold dust in the UK during lockdown, but the lucky ones who managed to get hold of it have been filling their homes with the smell of home made bread. How to make bread was googled 900% more in the past 6 weeks than this time last year.

Home made loaf of bread from instagram 3. How to cut hair

Up and down the country Brits are donning lockdown trims courtesy of their housemates. There have been over 900% more searches on how to cut hair as the nation desperately attempts to get their barnets under control.

The back of a boys head from a homedone haircut 4. How to lose weight

There are lots of peaks and troughs around this search term, but we’ve seen a bigger spike than usual at this time of year. Perhaps some Brits are using the time in lockdown to transform their eating habits (or are just trying to shift the pounds after all the extra alcohol).

Woman with brown hair exercising at home 5. How to screenshot

Working from home has forced lots of UK citizens to work from home and quickly transform into their own IT support. Screenshotting is not only useful for work, but is an easy way to share information with friends and family, which could be the reason for the spike of this search term. 6. How to make a face mask

With a well documented shortage of PPE worldwide, it’s not surprising people are dusting off the sewing machine to make their own face masks. Compared to this time last year, learning how to make a face mask at home has risen by way over 1000%. A blonde lady next to a sowing machine making face masks 7. How to get Disney Plus

Offering something for everyone, Disney Plus has been a lifesaver for families up and down the country who are attempting to work from home while looking after the kids. The first week of lockdown saw a 1000% rise in searches for Disney Plus compared to before - Disney must be very happy with the timing of their coincidental launch date. 8. How to delete Houseparty account

Group video chat app, Houseparty saw a huge surge in downloads after the lockdown was announced. But once stories of hacking came out, the nation decided it was time to abandon ship. Between the 29th March and 4th April, there was a 1000% rise in googling “how to delete houseparty account”.

2 women and 2 men on houseparty app 9. How to make scones

However you pronounce them, one thing we can all agree on is the fact they’re pretty delicious. Now more Brits than ever know how to make these traditional baked treats. 10. How to cut your own hair

With hairdressers closed up and down the country, the people of the UK are desperately turning to DIY hair cuts. No doubt once the lockdown has eased, queues for hairdressers will be some of the longest going. 11. How to get Disney Plus on TV 12. How to use Zoom 13. How to make pizza dough 14. How to make burgers 15. How to make iced coffee 16. How to get Disney Plus on Smart TV 17. How to cut men’s hair 18. How to make honeycomb 19. How to make fudge 20. How to set up a zoom meeting

Top 10 “How to” searches in England during lockdown

  1. How to draw
  2. How to make bread
  3. How to lose weight
  4. How to make a mask
  5. How to make face mask
  6. How to make a face mask
  7. How to make cookies
  8. How to get Disney Plus
  9. How to make pastry
  10. How to delete houseparty account

Top 10 “How to” searches in Wales during lockdown

  1. How to draw
  2. How to make bread
  3. How to make a mask
  4. How to get Disney Plus
  5. How to make pastry
  6. How to make a face mask
  7. How to make cheesecake
  8. How to make cookies
  9. How to make pancakes
  10. How to cut your own hair

Top 10 “How to” searches in Scotland during lockdown

  1. How to draw
  2. How to make bread
  3. How to lose weight
  4. How to make a mask
  5. How to pronounce
  6. How to make a face mask
  7. How to delete houseparty account
  8. How to make pancakes
  9. How to make banana bread
  10. How to boil an egg

Top 10 “How to” searches in Northern Ireland during lockdown

  1. How to make bread
  2. How to get Disney Plus
  3. How to make scones
  4. How to make pancakes
  5. How to get Disney Plus on tv
  6. How to make potato bread
  7. How to delete houseparty account
  8. How to make pizza dough
  9. How to make buttercream
  10. How to make pavlova

USA top “how to” searches

Over the pond in the USA, search terms are very similar to the UK, however there is more of a focus on unemployment, possibly due to the lack of furlough scheme that the UK has.

  1. How to draw
  2. How to make a mask
  3. How to make face mask
  4. How to make a face mask
  5. How to get stimulus check
  6. How to file for unemployment
  7. How to apply for unemployment
  8. How to make hand sanitizer
  9. How to take a screenshot
  10. How to boil eggs
  11. How to make a mask with fabric
  12. Bandana mask how to
  13. How to use zoom
  14. How to make a face mask with fabric
  15. How to track stimulus check
  16. How to change zoom background
  17. How to cut your own hair
  18. How to check status of stimulus check
  19. How to change background on zoom
  20. How to make whipped coffee

Methodology - using Google trends data from the 23/3/20 - 04/05/20

For percentage increases Google trends data was used from the 12 months previous and to the nearest 100%. Disney plus calculated within lockdown.