According to Google Trends, just hours after the EU vote, United Kingdom citizens are searching what exactly is EU on Google. Surprising as it may seem, it was after the polls closed when British voters started to think seriously about the implications of their choice.
— GoogleTrends (@GoogleTrends) June 24, 2016 According to data from Google Trends, the searches for “what is the eu” and “what is brexit” started climbing across Britain late into the night. The polls closed at 10 p.m. local time. It also seems that Britishers voted in the remain/leave referendum sans any researcher or decision because another top query on Google search was “What happens if we leave the EU?” The search spike seems to suggest that UK voters weren’t exactly sure what they were getting into.
Northern Ireland and Scotland voters fare equally to their English counterparts on the dumb quotient. Google Trends, on Twitter, has highlighted a few local spikes, too, with “what is Brexit” a top search related to the referendum in both Northern Ireland and Scotland. Both of them voted in favor of remaining in the EU.
— GoogleTrends (@GoogleTrends) June 24, 2016
— GoogleTrends (@GoogleTrends) June 24, 2016 While some from London who were against the leave are now searching future residency options by googling for “move to Gibraltar.” (Gibraltar is a British territory in southern Europe.)
— GoogleTrends (@GoogleTrends) June 24, 2016 There is only one lesson that can be drawn from the Google Trends for Brexit, do some research BEFORE you vote in such historic referendums, not AFTER.
