For my data story, I chose to analyze global and U.S Google search trends of homework, depression, and stress over a 12 month time period. This led me to find that all three correlate correspondingly, as they all dip as well as rise at various points. During holiday periods in the U.S, all three searches dramatically dip. From November 19th-25th, depression searches dipped from a 96% interest to 76%. Meanwhile, homework went from 26% to 11% while stress had a rapid decline from 70% to 53%. With this, inferences can be made that the dip is due to the Thanksgiving holidays, were students do not have school and many workers get some time off for vacation. This is similarly shown during December 24th to the 30th, with depression being at an all-time low at 62%. Homework is at an interest rate of 4% and stress reaches a low of 43%. Commonly celebrated during this period are holidays like Christmas or Hanukkah, which result in longer holidays and more time to relax. Worldwide, the searches also decrease during holidays around fall and winter, however, with less of a dip. This is due to the fact that globally, there are many holidays and not all countries celebrate the same ones. Therefore, the inclines and declines are much less noticeable. The correlation between the three search topics showed that homework, stress, and depression typically follow each other. This means lots of homework can lead to stress and possibly depression, which explains the trends in the graph. However, depression tops all of the searches. This is probably due to the fact that students are not the majority that face depression, and depression can come from many sources.
My first individual point of research was the search topic of stress. I found that out of all the countries using Google, Japan had, by far, the most searches for this central topic in comparison to homework and depression. After I did some research, I found that the high levels of stress are due to the culture of overworking and the high suicide rates that often follow. Japan even has a word for people who overwork themselves to death: Karoshi. According to an article by the Business Insider, a survey in 2016 showed that over 20% of 10,000 Japanese workers had worked 80 hours overtime in the past month. In the U.S, the District of Columbia had the most searches for stress. This is most likely due to the fact that it has Washington D.C, the governing center of the United States. Many issues evolve or start there, leading to a heated political climate. This can cause high levels of stress among those who live there.
The second search trend I researched was depression. I found that New Zealand, followed closely by Germany, had the most Google searches for this topic. I was surprised by this, as New Zealand has a pretty low population. However, through some research, I found that many New Zealanders are alcoholics, according to a study by the BMC journal. Their love-hate relationship with alcohol leads to high depression rates, which explains the large amount of searches regarding depression. As well as the high depression rates, New Zealanders were also found to have a higher suicide rate than other countries. Meanwhile, in the United States, West Virginia was the top searcher for depression. According to a state perception ranking report, West Virginia was voted as the most depressing state. This is due to higher levels of obesity and various other factors. Meanwhile, in the United States, West Virginia was the top searcher for depression. According to a state perception ranking report, West Virginia was voted as the most depressing state. This is due to higher levels of obesity and various other factors.
The last specific point of research I did was for the search topic of homework. I found that out of all the countries, the United Kingdom was the highest search contender for homework. Despite China having the highest amount of homework for students, China does not have access to Google. I found that in the UK, parents do not help with students as much as other parents do in different countries, according to an article by BBC. UK students face an average of 2-3 hours of homework a night. Meanwhile, California has the most searches for homework in the United States. Many schools in California tend to assign more homework than other states. However, searches are plentiful not for this reason: but for new California policies regarding the usefulness of homework, according to PUSD statements.
