The JustAnswer January Curiosity Report – Jan 2022

Fitness Equipment, Financial Software and Resume Advice Dominate January Questions

In the first month of 2022 coming out of the holiday season, people increasingly turned to JustAnswer for professional advice on everything from fitness equipment, financial software and resume tips to wedding planning. 

January Trending Topics by Question Volume 

Five topics stood out in January in terms of increased question volume either month over month or trending for the year: 

• Financial Software – up 98%. 
  • As people prep for the annual dreaded IRS and state tax filing deadlines in April (and corporate filing deadlines in March), it’s inevitable they have questions for experts in all of the traditional tax preparation programs such as TurboTax and others like it. This year, a raft of changes and new rules since 2021 and continued confusion over things like the child care tax credit and whether you can deduct home office expenses have JustAnswer’s tax specialists and financial experts busier than ever. In addition, we’ve seen an increase in questions for finance pros with expertise in crypto, NFTs and other specialized areas. 
• Exercise Equipment – up 38%.
  • Given how popular working out is in the first month of the year as we all put in a valiant effort toward New Year’s resolutions, it’s not hugely surprising to see a spike in questions about fitness equipment such as Pelotons and treadmills for January. What may be more interesting is whether this pattern holds past spring? 
• Business Law – up 20%.
  • New Year, New Company? January saw a marked increase in questions related to corporate legal matters, perhaps related to people forming new ventures or even setting up sole proprietorships. 
• Weddings – up 20%.
  • Statistics show that the period from Christmas through Valentine’s Day is one of the most popular times of the year for couples to get engaged, so it makes sense that we might see a bump in questions related to nuptials in January. 
• Job/Career-related – up 13%.
  • With the Great Resignation in full force and many corporate employees just receiving their 2021 annual bonus, this past month saw a record number of queries on JustAnswer related to resumes and job-seeking protocol and dilemmas. 

They Asked What? 

Of course, JustAnswer also received the usual batch of shall we say unusual or slightly random queries last month. Here are a few: 

• I dreamt about buying 12 frogs to take home then set free into the river but some of them died before I got there. What does this mean? 
• My betta fish has a swollen, distended belly. May be constipated as well. I have given an Epsom salt bath, following 3 days of fasting, but no improvement! Can you help? 
• I know that this might sound a bit weird but I had someone on Tik Tok claiming to be Keanu Reeves and apparently he is going to send me gifts and money. Is this true? 
• Do you need a stripping license in Michigan 2022?
• What kind of shoes did the Jedi wear?