One of the great strengths of search data is the (somewhat false) sense of privacy between the searcher and the search box. So when people have socially awkward concerns they turn to search for help.
Few things are more socially awkward than sexually transmitted diseases and they are therefore a good candidate for search analysis.
This graph shows the searches in the UK including ‘sti’ with exclusions for ‘subaru’ and ‘impreza’ to remove search noise for the unfortunately initialed ‘Subaru Impreza STI’ sports car.
When we look at 8 months of UK Google searches including ‘sti’, distinct peaks are discernable, but no obvious pattern.
UK Google Search Volume Index for searches including ‘sti‘ Jan – August 2012
However if we take a daily view, in this case UK search data for August 2012 and take an average of the search volume index by day, a clear pattern emerges.
| Week day August 2012 | UK Google SVI |
|---|---|
| Sunday | 81 |
| Monday | 81 |
| Tuesday | 81 |
| Wednesday | 80 |
| Thursday | 76 |
| Friday | 65 |
| Saturday | 67 |
People are clearly more concerned about their sexual health in the early part of the week, tailing down to a low on Friday and Saturdays before suddenly peaking again on Sundays.
So what conclusions can we draw?
It’s reasonable to assume that people are interested in STIs in the one or two days immediately after having unprotected sex with strangers. Therefore this data shows that people are almost certainly having the most casual sex on Saturdays, the traditional party night.
Therefore we can say with some certainty that the best time to have casual sex in the UK is on a Saturday night. Just make sure to use protection.
Great idea! The data would be used by doctors to be alert about special problems at special occasions! Thank you anyway.