This year, there were more than memes and viral cat videos throughout everyone's social media feed. People have taken to using Twitter and other social media handles to address social issues and political expression now more than ever. From photo illusions, celebrity and film advertisements, sporting events, and equality movements, the hashtag played a big part in it all throughout 2015.
The Dress
The debate between #BlueandBlack and #WhiteandGold went viral as an optical illusion created by a picture of a dress in dim lighting on February 26 and 27.
Pop Stars Take Over
(Source:Taylor Swift via Twitter)
Taylor Swift and Justin Bieber were two of 2015's biggest stars on Twitter. Taylor's surprise guest stars throughout her 1989 tour gained attention from excited fans throughout the year, and Bieber was able to reinvent himself starting the second half of the year thanks to the power of social media.
The Black Lives Matter Movement
The hashtag #BlackLivesMatter represented a social movement that developed after events also discussed on Twitter such as #Ferguson, #Charleston, and the Baltimore Protests
"Call Me Caitlyn"
Caitlyn Jenner introduced herself to the world on June 1st. Four hours after making her twitter account, she broke the record for the fastest time to reach 1 million followers, breaking President Obama's previous record.
FIFA Women's World Cup
(Source: FoxSports)
This summer from June 6 to July 5th, the FIFA Women's World Cup in Canada had tweets viewed over 9 billion times, which made this tournament one of the largest sporting events of the year.
Marriage Equality for All
This year, Ireland legalized same sex marriage on May 21, and the United States followed on June 26. The hashtag #LoveWins proceeded to go viral.
Refugees Welcome
(Source: Reuters)
Tragic images of a young Syrian boy washing up on a Turkey beach flooded social media in early September. Refugees from the Middle East and Africa sought asylum in Europe, resulting in the hashtag #RefugeesWelcome to encourage European countries to grant the refugees entrance.
#IStandWithAhmed
On September 14, 14 year old Ahmed Mohammed was detained and handcuffed in Texas for bringing a homemade clock to school with him. The digital clock was believed to be a bomb, and a picture of the high school freshman handcuffed went viral within a few hours with the hashtag #IStandWithAhmed.
The Paris Attacks
The Paris Attacks of November 13 developed sympathies from Twitter followers all over the world. #PrayforParis became a global trend and the hashtag #PortOuverte was created to help those in Paris find shelter.
Star Wars
(Source: Twitter.com)
The three days following the first screening of the highly anticipated film, "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," there were over 1.5 million majorly positive tweets recorded about the film. Critical response came in at 99% positive reviews, which is out of character for most film reviews on social media.
