What Was On Your Mind in 2012?

by Jack Loechner, Dec 31, 2012, 6:15 AM

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Ask.com recently released the top trending search and corresponding questions for 2012 around celebrities, news and politics. With so many crazy headlines this past year, Ask probed Americans’ thoughts about 2012’s biggest news stories and determined which stories were asked about the most.

And, this year, Ask took its annual analysis one step further with its “2012: What’s on America’s Mind?” survey, conducted online by Harris Interactive among over 2,000 adults in November, to surface the underlying consumer perceptions driving these questions to the top of the list. In addition, Ask captured some of the most notable moments of the year.

More than 100 million people turned to Ask.com to satisfy their curiosity around 2012’s biggest news and events. The person Ask users most wanted to know about this year was Kristen Stewart, one-half of America’s favorite Twilight couple. “Will Rob and Kristen get back together?” is officially the top trending question of 2012. 

Top Celebrity search questions:

• Will Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart get back together?
• Was Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise’s marriage fake?
• Does Gangnam Style mean?
• When is Snooki’s baby due?
• What will happen to Prince Harry because of the nude pictures?
• How big is Angelina’s engagement ring?
• What is the best Call Me Maybe parody?
• Are Justin and Jessica getting married?
• Did Miley Cyrus cut her hair?
• Does Ryan Lochte have a girlfriend? 

According to the report, Kate Middleton is 2012’s overall favorite celebrity by a landslide. 47% of US adults surveyed put Kate Middleton at the top of their list of favorite celebrity newsmakers, beating out Brad Pitt, 41%, Angelina Jolie, 39%, Tom Cruise, 37%, Katie Holmes, 36%, and Kristen, 20%. 

Top News search questions include:

• How many medals did the US gymnastics team win?
• What is the damage from Hurricane Sandy?
• What happened at the Colorado shooting?
• What is Jerry Sandusky’s sentence?
• When will the iPhone 5 be released?
• When is the Facebook IPO?
• Did Lance Armstrong take drugs?
• How did Whitney Houston die?
• How did the Costa Concordia sink?
• Why was Trayvon Martin Shot?

Millions of users clamored for details on the headlines, but, according to the survey, here’s what they think, says the report:

• America is split over the Lance Armstrong scandal; 38% of US adults support Lance Armstrong being stripped of his Tour de France titles while 39% do not
• The iPhone 5 may have made big waves in the press, but it barely registered a ripple among U.S. adults: 49% of those  surveyed said they don’t see a big difference between the iPhone 5 and the previous version
• Many Americans were unimpressed by Facebook’s much-anticipated IPO, with 45% of respondents believing the stock is not a good buy
• More than a third of Americans point to the devastating Shootings in Aurora, Colorado, followed by the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy, and the shooting of Trayvon Martin as the most shocking headlines

This election year it appears that Americans didn’t much “Like” getting the answers from friends via social media. Despite the popularity of going political, 59% of Americans have an aversion to reading friends’ political views on Facebook.

Top political questions include:

• Who will win the Presidential race?
• When is Clinton speaking at the DNC?
• What did Mitt Romney say about 47%?
• Why did Clint Eastwood talk to a chair in his speech?
• What did the CEO of Chick-Fil-A say about gay marriage?
• What did Todd Akin say about legitimate rape?
• Where is gay marriage legal?
• What is Obamacare?
• Is Greece bringing down the Euro?
• Was John Edwards found guilty?

 For more information, please visit Ask.com here.

 

 

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