Correlation between increasing Internet access in Brazil in the periods 2005–2011 and 2008–2013 with users interests, as indicated by their actual Internet search behaviours per state, according to Google Trends data

This study investigates how Brazilian users interests, as indicated by their actual Internet search behaviours, evolved with their increasing familiarity with the Internet. Changes in the number of people who accessed the Internet in each state, as provided by Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) data, were correlated with the corresponding changes of the rates of their Internet searches in Brazil for the terms ‘Biologia’ (Biology), ‘Química’ (Chemistry), ‘Matemática’ (Mathematics), ‘Globo’ (The dominant Brazilian free-to-air television network), and ‘jogos’ (games) in the periods 2005–2011, as provided by downloaded GT data. A correlation coefficient value near +1 indicates that the rate of Internet searches for a given term raised along with the increasing Internet access in that state during that period; contrariwise, a correlation coefficient value near -1 indicates that the rate of Internet searches for that term decreased in that period.