2018’s Most Popular (and Hilarious) “Should I…” Google Searches By State

With 2018 nearly wrapped-up and slowly fading into the rear-view, some of the biggest public companies and private analytics firms are starting to release their year-end analyses of the “most popular” or “best of” [whatever it is they’re honing in on].

Just last week, Apple shared its annual top apps, games, music, movies, TV shows, podcasts and books, which “shaped entertainment and culture around the world” in 2018. And, even more recently, we comprised a list of 2018’s most popular and highly-rated iPhone-connected smart gadgets. However, today we have arguably the most interesting (and funny) of them to share with you.

Courtesy of Google and AT&T, it specifically examines the top “Should I…” Google inquiries submitted this year in each of our 50 U.S. states. 

In its lengthy, and at times downright side-splitting, analysis, dubbed “Most-Googled ‘Should I’ Question in Your State”, AT&T found that Google users in most states are curious about issues like “health, appearance, life decisions, and whether or not they should care,” among other things.

And the Winners Are…

According to AT&T’s report, “Should I vote” was the most popular question in seven states, including Montana, North & South Dakota, Wyoming, Delaware, Alaska and New Hampshire — which isn’t terribly surprising considering both the mid-term elections of 2018, and that New Hampshire is among the first major voting battlegrounds in the nation. 

Indiana and Michigan residents, meanwhile, appeared to wonder whether they should “Vape” (or vaporize substances with an e-cigarette versus a traditional one).

Other funny findings include people in Virginia questioning whether they should take a nap, to more serious inquiries like “Should I move?” (California, Hawaii, Utah, Colorado and South Carolina). “Should I have a baby?” (Pennsylvania) and “Should I go to college?” (Connecticut).

AT&T noted in its report that 73.4% of high schoolers in Connecticut decide to pursue higher education, which can certainly explain the lattermost of those queries.

Interestingly, the report notes that “People from Idaho, Maine, New Mexico, Oregon, and West Virginia ask ‘should I care?’,” while those in Florida, Georgia, and New York simply want to know if they ‘should text him (a crazy ex-partner?), and Texans whether they should apologize.  

“And with all that good ol’ southern cooking, residents of Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi wonder if they should lose weight,” the nation’s second-largest consumer wireless and broadband internet provider noted.

As far as how these findings came to be, AT&T says it found the most distinct search for each U.S. state using native Google Trends data and autocomplete functionality.