Fri, 29 Mar, 2024

Most Popular Hashtags: 2015

By Shibesh Duwadi

Picture Courtesy: Nikita Gautam

 2015 gave us all moments to revel in and cheer as well as moments to drown our sorrows. After the ups and downs of the year, each and every one of us have emerged with countless lessons learned and  memories to cherish for the rest of our lives.

With the New Year 2016 finally upon us, let us take a glance back at the most trending social media custom i.e. hashtags in the year 2015.

 #JeSuisCharlie and #PrayforParis

Two different hash tags but for the similar cause were very popular in 2015, which symbolized the entire world coming together and protesting against terrorism. On January 18, 2015, terrorist attack on the Paris offices of satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, killing twelve people, which gave birth to the #JeSuisCharlie which means "I am Charlie".

The same type of attack in France killed at least 129 people. The series of coordinated attacks occurred in two different places of Paris at the same time, from which #PrayForParis emerged.

 #TheDress

Internet can prove to be a strange place occasionally. Literally, anything or anyone could go viral in a matter of hours. That proved to be the case in this particular occasion, on February 27, 2015,  an image of a dress attracted millions of people online. Then, started an epic discussion about how different people perceive color.

The Dress sent everyone insane over whether it was black and blue, or white and gold.

(It was proven to be black and blue, in case you're still wondering)

#Callmecait

From being one of the best known fathers on the planet, Bruce Jenner managed to make himself even more famous by transforming himself to Caitlyn Jenner. The "Keeping Up With The Kardashians" star finally came out on public as Caitlyn Jenner on April and made her first tweet explaining her difficult journey in getting to this point and thanking her fans for their overwhelming support.

#LoveWins

All the same sex marriage advocates flooded social media throughout June with the hashtag #LoveWins, after the Supreme Court of USA legalized same sex marriage in 50 different states. This landmark moment in US history was not only celebrated by the Americans, but the entire world joined in on supporting this decision and posing the rainbow emblem and the hashtag #LoveWins on social media platforms.

#PlutoFlyby

In July, the world got a glimpse of  the Pluto, as never seen before, after spacecraft New Horizons hovered past the icy dwarf planet.  That particular journey which lasted about nine years and covered 5 billion kilometers. Its close encounter captured the first detailed images of the dwarf planet, revealing mystery dark spots, a light heart-shaped patch and a range of icy mountains.

The internet acted accordingly as this breathtaking image gave birth to #PlutoFlyBy.

#CecilTheLion

When a picture of a US dentist, Walter Palmer, posing next to a lion  which he killed in Zimbabwe went viral, he faced the full ferocity of the social media.

He was instantly targeted on the social networking sites, while the big cat became a legend with his own hashtag, #CecilTheLion.

#IStandWithAhmed

In the midst of all the terrorist attacks happening all around the world, a 14-year-old Ahmed Mohammed sparked a global conversation with more than 370,000 tweets. He was arrested and handcuffed at his Texas school for bringing in his homemade digital clock because the School staff thought it was a bomb. A photo of the high school freshman in handcuffs went viral on Twitter. He received insane support from people all over the world tweeting #IStandWithAhmed, including one from President Obama.

#PrayForNepal

Nepal faced its lowest point in recent history when a devastating 7.8 magnitude earthquake hit the country killing over 9000 people and injuring more than 23,000. Many countries from all around the world sent rescue teams and support in order to save as many lives as possible after the disaster. It also gave birth to #PrayForNepal hashtag on social media, as people showed their support and sent their prayers to the people of Nepal in their time of need.

#BackOffIndia

Nepal finally got its new fully secular and democratic constitution on September, after seven years of deliberations. However, this occasion was marred by protests, violence and even death as the Madhesi groups protested against the federal structure in the new constitution. India decided to step in expressing concerns over the violence and urged the Nepalese Leadership to address it. The Nepalese citizens did not take kindly to India's intervention as they flooded social media sites with #BackOffIndia, voicing their irritation about India's role in a national issue.