2015 Will go down in history as a supremely terrible year for basically everybody. While many people celebrated major victories in the name of equality, such as the Supreme Court ruling against the ban on same-sex marriage, they were quickly overshadowed by national and international crises, such as the ISIS attacks in Paris that left 130 people dead as well as domestic terrorism threats and way, way too many mass shootings. Naturally, millions of people took to social media to voice their opinion on these issues. However, it should come as no surprise that now, only a few months removed from these events, we have all resumed posting acoustic Adele covers and sharing Buzzfeed videos featuring people drinking their own pee. Don't get me wrong. I'm eager to move on, too. But the truth is, we can't. Issues don't go away simply because we stop talking about them. So, in light of this unfortunate reality, I did a little research.
Here are some of the most-used Twitter hashtags of 2015, and what you need to know about them right now.
#PrayForParis
Over 8 million Twitter users voiced their support for Paris in the wake of the November ISIS attacks that left 130 people dead. Despite progress being made toward containing the militant state, they are still active and dangerous, even in the West. Four men were arrested in Germany last Thursday over suspected ISIS ties and plans to carry out an attack. A statement issued by the Islamic State in January threatened an attack that will make us "forget" the September 11 attacks in the United States and the 2015 Paris attacks. ISIS bombings in January left two citizens dead in Jakarta, Indonesia. A suicide bomber with ISIS ties killed 10 people in Turkey on January 16. In total, there have been 11 confirmed ISIS attacks since the shootings in Paris. Meanwhile, Paris remains in a state of emergency which, according to the Prime Minister of France, will remain in place indefinitely.
#WhatColorIsThisFREAKINGDRESS
That's not the actual hashtag used, but you remember exactly what I am referring to. In case you still care (you don't), the company has confirmed that the dress is blue and black.
It looks white and gold to some people because something, something,blah, blah, blah, the human brain, something, something computer pixels. I don't know, Google it if you really want the scientific explanation. I don't.
Let's move on.
#LoveWins
Woah. I don't even know where to start with this one. Since the news first broke in June that the Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex marriage, over 96,000 same-sex couples have been married across the country. The law has sparked serious discussion and debate over other related issues, such as transgender rights, gender neutrality, and gender fluidity, as well as an avalanche of controversial parents being praised and chided on Facebook and blog sites for sending their five-year-old boys to kindergarten in a dress.
Meanwhile, several states including Tennessee, Nebraska and Alabama, have actively spoken out against it and even voted to repeal the same-sex marriage law. None have been successful thus far.
This is one of the surprisingly few of last year's social media trends that continues to receive a large amount of coverage, and there is no sign that the conversation will dry up any time soon as new issues regarding race, gender, and sexuality are continually being brought to the table.
#DonaldTrump
For the past year, Trump has made headlines almost weekly, and he is not going away any time soon. Currently, he is the Republican front-runner. However, his odds of actually being elected do not look so promising. Three of every five Americans have a negative opinion of Donald Trump, the highest unfavorability rating of any candidate in over 20 years.
#IStandWithAhmed
Ahmed Mohamed is the 14-year-old student who was suspended from his MacArthur, Texas high school for bringing a homemade clock to class, which his teachers wrongly assumed was a bomb. Over 400,000 tweets using this hashtag voiced support for Ahmed after a picture of the boy in handcuffs surfaced online. It ignited a brief movement against profiling and Islamophobia, which was quickly forgotten about once people realized that the United States might actually have to help Muslims that don't already live here.
Since the controversy, Ahmed has become something of a celebrity, with prominent figures such as Mark Zuckerberg, Mark Cuban, and even Barack Obama personally reaching out to him to offer their support.
News surrounding Ahmed has been scarce since the September incident, most likely because... well, he doesn't live in the United States anymore. However, this story does have a happy ending. Ahmed accepted a scholarship to the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development in October. He and his family moved to Qatar shortly after the "clock incident." He has been recognized as a genuinely brilliant kid who will, hopefully, go on to do brilliant things.
And as far as his recovery from being the center of a nationwide controversy... it looks like he's doing fine.
