A selection of events that played out big on social media in the year 2016
The year 2016 is nearly over and, like previous years, this one also saw some good, some bad and some strange stuff on social media.
It is not unusual for people to comment on the speed with which an entire year went by, that does not, however, mean that the year was not full of action. Here is a recap of some of the major topics that trended on social media this year to help refresh your memory:
#Demonetisation
If you thought #Brexit was a prank that went too far, wait till you hear about this one! It was November 8, 2016, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on national television that the currency notes of Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 would cease to be legal tender from midnight and the people of India would have 50 days in which to exchange or deposit these notes in banks. A stunned India has since been standing in queues at banks and ATMs, as the two demonetised currency denominations accounted for 86 per cent of the total cash in circulation in the county of 1.3 billion people. There is hardly any Indian who has not been affected by this decision and the topic has caught the fancy of social media users in one way or the other. As far as shelf lives of an event goes, #demonetisation or #noteban is right up there with #GeneralElections
Cartoonists also had a great time during these fifty days. Here are two samples
#Brexit
To stay or leave? In June this year, British citizens voted to answer this question about Britain’s membership of the European Union. In an event that sent shockwaves around the world, 52 per cent of the voters who participated in the referendum, voted to leave the EU. British Prime Minister David Cameron, who was in favour of a “stay”, resigned after the result was known. He was succeeded by Theresa May at the Prime Minister’s office. The aftershocks of this event are still being felt by the global economy. The entire process, it is believed, will take two years to finish.
While the world was in shock when the result was declared, social media reacted like, well, social media!
#PokemonGo
In July this year, Niantic released an augmented reality game for mobile phones and people all over the world left their homes in search of imaginary creatures called Pokémon. Gamers tried to locate and capture these creatures using their phone’s GPS. The game, a wild success the world over, saw more than 500 million downloads. It now holds five Guinness World Records, including one for grossing the highest revenue ($ 206.5 million) in the first month.
So, did you catch some Pikachu or not?
#Rio2016
The year 2016 happened to be one of the 31st Olympic games in the city of Rio de Janiero, Brazil. Just like Pokemon Go, #Rio2016 was a global phenomenon that became one of the biggest trends this year. Some 11,000 athletes representing 205 countries participated in the games and for those 17 days in August when the games were on, social media forgot the world’s worries and watched these super athletes compete for glory. USA topped the tables with 46 gold medals. India had to wait for many days before it could win a medal. Sakshi Malik won a bronze in Women’s Freestyle Wrestling and two days later P V Sindhu bagged a silver medal in Women’s singles Badminton.
Breaking News & Latest News :
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Cabinet passes ordinance; fine, jail for holding old notes
(Ordinance is to extinguish liability of govt and RBI on the demonetised high-denomination notes)
Soon, dental implants that kill bacteria, anchor to bone
(Mouth infections are currently regarded as the main reason why dental implants fail)
I-T notices to 50 car dealers; seeks details of customers post Nov 8
(Dept wants details of customers along with their addresses, car bought, invoiced cost, booking dates)
Budget: PM Modi calls for innovation; special focus on skills & tourism
(The government has said February 1 will be the date for presentation of future Union Budgets)
