Acts of Kindness surge in 2020, new research reveals!
Ahead of World Kindness Day on 13th November, new research by thortful.com reveals how attitudes to kindness and altruism have increased since the pandemic hit.
thortful analysed the search volumes for keywords relating to kindness. The findings show that the average monthly searches for ‘acts of kindness’ are 4400 in 2020 compared with 2900 in 2019. Meanwhile, the search term ‘random acts of kindness’ has more than tripled since last year.
Average monthly searches (March – September 2019 vs. March – September 2020) – change YoY:
| Keyword | Avg. monthly searches (March – September 2019) | Avg. monthly searches (March – September 2020) |
| acts of kindness | 2900 | 4400 |
| be kind | 9900 | 22200 |
| be kind quotes | 1300 | 18100 |
| being kind quotes | 1900 | 2400 |
| have courage and be kind | 1000 | 1600 |
| kind | 1000 | 12100 |
| kind meaning | 1300 | 2400 |
| kind nature | 720 | 880 |
| kind words | 720 | 3600 |
| kindness | 1300 | 18100 |
| kindness quotes | 4400 | 27100 |
| random acts of kindness | 1600 | 5400
|
Interestingly these acts of kindness and altruism only apply to other people and not ourselves. Average monthly searches for the term ‘be kind to yourself’ went from 8100 from March-September 2019 to 3600 in March-September 2020.
| Keyword | Avg. monthly searches (March – September 2019) | Avg. monthly searches (March – September 2020) |
| be kind to yourself | 8100 | 3600 |
Commenting on the findings thortful explained that ‘it’s great to see that attitudes to kindness have increased this year. Pandemic or no pandemic, kindness is always a good thing and we were overwhelmed how many people purchased cards from our Send a Smile range to stay connected to loved ones during these strange times.’
To find out more about thortful or to view their Kindness range, go to: https://www.thortful.com/cards/sendasmile
Photo by Dayne Topkin on Unsplash
Author: Mandy Kloppers
Mandy is a qualified therapist who treats depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, trauma, and many other types of mental health issues. She provides online therapy around the world for those needing support and also provides relationship counselling.
