Twitter has updated its "#YearOnTwitter" format into a year-end post named "The Top 10 Global Conversations of 2016." As assumed by its title, the world talked about "#Brexit" -- UK's vote out of the European Union, US President Elect Donald Trump, television series including hugely-followed medieval fantasy "Game of Thrones," Niantic's augmented reality iteration of "Pokemon" in "#PokemonGo" and the numerous deaths of elderly celebrities and political leaders of the past age.
According to Engadget.com, Twitter's topics -- especially American politics and the deaths -- made Twitter in 2016 a depressing place to be. According to contributor Steve Dent, the "death and politics" in the real world are paralleled by "#GameofThrones"-- particularly the death and politics in the series itself.
According to Twitter's "Top 10 Global Conversations," the 2016 Oscars became the biggest buzz when famed and fan-loved "Titanic" and "Inception" actor Leonardo DiCaprio finally won his first Oscar. The actor has yet to win an Oscar despite his enthralling performance in previous movies. "The Revenant" finally gave DiCaprio his well-deserved Oscar in 2016.
The hashtag "#Rio2016" became trending as the 2016 Rio Olympics went in full swing this year. The top 4 finishing countries during the Olympics include the United States with 121 medals, the United Kingdom with 67 medals, China with 70 medals -- with just fewer gold medals than Britain -- and Russia with 56 medals.
Twitter users also used more of the "#RIP" hashtag that included some major names in Hollywood and politics including British pop icon David Bowie, golf legend Arnold Palmer and "Harry Potter's" Alan Rickman -- of his character Snape's fame. A month ago, former Cuban leader Fidel Castro's death had also gripped social media.
US President-Elect Donald Trump's own "#Trump" hashtag dominated global conversations. Most retweets with the hashtag involve some violent and derogatory discussions -- which may have given Twitter the impression of a depressing place. It has also been the official hashtag of the President-Elect during his campaign.
