skip to main content

See Each State’s Online Guilty Pleasure for 2018

What do you google alone in the dark?

From gluttony and lust to greed and envy, our earthly desires can be explored to new depths thanks to the internet. But which of the seven deadly sins is your state after?

We used Google search data to find the embarrassing and subtly sinful terms each state searched the most.

online guilty pleasures map

People across the country envy fame and celebrity.

The most searched guilty pleasure terms centered around reality TV and celebrity culture. Eight states had “reality TV” as their guilty pleasure. A couple more states searched for “the Kardashians,” and Arizona searched for “Kylie Jenner lip fillers.” Montana kept things more general, googling “celebrity news.”

Arizona

Kylie Jenner lip fillers

California

The Kardashians

Connecticut

Reality TV

Georgia

Reality TV

Louisiana

Reality TV

Maryland

Reality TV

Massachusetts

The Kardashians

Missouri

Reality TV

Montana

Celebrity news

New Hampshire

Justin Bieber’s engagement

New Jersey

Reality TV

Pennsylvania

Reality TV

Virginia

Reality TV

New Hampshire must have an embarrassingly high number of Beliebers. Its most searched guilty pleasure was “Justin Bieber’s engagement.”

Everyone likes a good deal—but wanting everything for free is a bit greedy.

The second-most popular searches all pertained to saving money. Six different states googled “free Netflix.” The terms “free coupons,” “discount codes,” and “online auction” also made an appearance.

Alaska

Discount codes

Arkansas

Free Netflix

Hawaii

Free Netflix

Kentucky

Free coupons

Michigan

Free Netflix

Minnesota

Online auction

New York

Discount codes

North Carolina

Free Netflix

Ohio

Online auction

South Carolina

Free Netflix

Tennessee

Free coupons

Vermont

Free Netflix

While we counted Vermont among the states who searched “free Netflix,” there was actually a three-way tie among “free Netflix,” “free Hulu,” and “Tinder.” Free Netflix and Tinder . . . it’s like even a simple “Netflix and chill” is too expensive for Vermont. People of Vermont, maybe swipe left?

We encountered a slew of slothful states.

Ten states searched for terms that deliver entertainment, food, or medical advice, presumably because leaving the house for anything is just too much work nowadays.

Six states googled this generation’s version of dinner and a movie: “memes” and “Uber Eats.” A couple other states wanted medical advice about something they were likely too embarrassed to show a doctor.

Florida

Uber Eats

Idaho

Memes

Maine

Cat videos

Nevada

Postmates

South Dakota

WebMD

Utah

Memes

Washington

Uber Eats

Washington DC

Uber Eats

Wisconsin

WebMD

Wyoming

Memes

Maine may be the most innocent state in the US. It had the tamest guilty pleasure search term: ”cat videos.”

Some Americans take a lot of pride in unproven knowledge.

There was another common theme in our data, but “they” don’t want you to know about it. Six states, the Queen, the Vatican, the Illuminati, and Colonel Sanders are all in on it. And if the lizard people find out we’re telling you this, they’ll summon the ghost of Stanley Kubrick to film the guys from the grassy knoll throwing us off the edge of the flat earth.

Colorado

Conspiracy theories

Indiana

Conspiracy theories

Iowa

Conspiracy theories

Kansas

Conspiracy theories

Nebraska

Conspiracy theories

Oklahoma

Conspiracy theories

New Mexico

UFOs

New Mexico’s most googled guilty pleasure, “UFOs”—the second cousin to conspiracy theories—makes sense, considering the famous UFO sightings in Roswell.

A few states were caught lustfully leering.

With the sheer volume of adult content on the internet, this list is surprisingly short and tamer than we thought it would be. Just four states fit into this category, and three of them kept it mostly clean.

Alabama

X-rated content

Illinois

Instagram models

Rhode Island

Instagram models

Texas

Instagram models

Alabama took it a step further and unabashedly searched for X-rated content.  Apparently some people in Alabama will do almost anything to entertain themselves between football seasons.

Several states longed for love, but Mississippi wanted more out a relationship.

As you might expect, “online dating” was among the most searched terms. Some version of it emerged as the most searched term in four states.

Delaware

Grindr

Mississippi

Sugar daddy websites

North Dakota

Tinder

Oregon

Online Dating

The enterprising people in Mississippi had a particular type of matchmaking on the mind. Attention lonely millionaires of Mississippi: get an online profile. Just watch out for catfish.

Take some parting advice from West Virginia.

The final—and possibly most suggestive—term belongs to West Virginia. It’s dripping with intrigue because of what it could be hiding but also doubles as sage wisdom for everyone guilty of embarrassing search queries.

West Virginia

Delete search history

Methodology

HighSpeedInternet.com compiled a list of common online guilty pleasures and then analyzed Google search data to find the most searched term in each state.

Author -

With over five years writing about the internet industry, John has developed a deep knowledge of internet providers and technology. Prior to writing professionally, John graduated with a degree in strategic communication from the University of Utah. His education and experience make his writing easy to understand, even when covering complex topics. John’s work has been cited by Xfinity.com, PCMag, The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, and more.

Find Providers in Your Area
Back to top