YouTube has published a new set of insights into rising topic trends during COVID-19, based on viewer searches and behaviors across the world.

And interestingly, as YouTube notes, similar trends were reflected in almost all regions:

“The global pandemic is not over. But, its shocking onset allowed us to see an astonishing uniformity in content trends around the world. That uniformity helped demonstrate the reality of our shared needs: to experience a sense of connection, feel as good as possible, and project a strong sense of self.”

I mean, that’s an overly philosophical way of putting it, but the stats underline that there’s a universality to the current human experience, which is reflected in the data.

Among the key trends of note, YouTube highlights the growth in home workout content, and restaurant-style presentation, in replacement of actually going out.

Those are fairly obvious, right? That lessens the impact of YouTube’s ‘shared sense of connection’ overview, as this is exactly what you would expect. But still, it’s interesting to note the key shifts, and how they’ve been reflected across the world.

Museum tours have also seen a big jump, as have face masks.

Again, fairly obvious – but there are also some less likely examples, like the rising interest in Dalgona coffee or sourdough bread.

But for the most part, the trends are what you might expect.

That doesn’t lessen their insight value, as there may well be elements in there you hadn’t thought of, which could be of value for your business promotions. But I don’t know that I agree with YouTube’s wondrous explanation of human serendipity, and how the data shows that we’re all connected, even if we don’t realize it.

Still, it’s worth taking a look at the charts – you can view the full YouTube ‘Watching the Pandemic’ report here.

There may be some valuable pointers to note for your efforts.