Mjolo in mind? What SA’s most searched words tell us about the state of relationships

The full top 25 Narcissist – 38 200 searches Gaslighting – 36 300 searches Love – 34 500 searches Anxiety – 31 000 searches Metaphor – 30 800 searches Integrity – 28 500 searches Fatigue – 26 200 searches Agile – 25 000 searches Stress – 23 700 searches Spiritual – 23 500 searches Capacity – 23 400 searches Clingy – 23 200 searches Equity – 22 800 searches Nonchalant – 22 700 searches Democracy – 22 600 searches Ethics – 22 400 searches Science – 22 200 searches Empathy – 21 200 searches Grace – 21 000 searches Resilience – 19 500 searches Power – 18 000 searches Corruption – 14 700 searches Discernment – 14 100 searches Eligible – 12 900 searches Apathy – 9 400 searches It’s hard to miss the relationship red flags hiding in plain sight here.

Mpumalanga – Nonchalant Limpopo – Narcissist Northern Cape – Spiritual Eastern Cape – Resilience Free State – Spiritual North West – Gaslighting Western Cape – Integrity Gauteng – Grace KwaZulu-Natal – Agile The bigger picture Taken together, the data suggests South Africans are using search engines as a kind of low-stakes therapist – a place to quietly check whether what they’re going through has a name, whether it’s a difficult ex, a demanding job or the state of the country.

New research analysing search data for 2026 has revealed the most searched word definitions in South Africa, and the results paint a telling picture of a nation trying to navigate modern relationships, emotional wellbeing and everyday mjolo drama, one Google search at a time.