Twitter trends: 2021's good, bad, happy and sad through hashtags

The microblogging site, which was at the centre of many things, became the default Covid-19 helpline for people

A year of hashtags. That’s one of the many ways to look at 2021. Several hashtags captured the big moments of the year that is now coming to a close. According to Twitter, between January 1 and November 15, #Covid19, #FarmersProtest, #TeamIndia, #Tokyo2020, #IPL2021, #IndVEng, #Diwali, #Master, #Bitcoin and #PermissionToDance were the most tweeted hashtags of 2021 in India.

The microblogging site, which was at the centre of many things — some good, some bad and a lot of it sad — became the default Covid-19 helpline for people, especially during the second wave of the pandemic in India. It was also the go-to platform for the latest on cricket and entertainment.

Cricketers and their commentary clearly created a buzz on Twitter. Australian cricketer Pat Cummins’ (@patcummins30) tweet about his donation to Covid-19 relief in India became the most retweeted one. As of Wednesday, it had been retweeted over 135,900 times. At nearly 22,000, it was also the top “quote tweet” in India.

Virat Kohli’s (@imVkohli) tweet announcing the birth of his daughter on January 11 was the most liked, with more than 538,000 “likes”.

The top hashtag in India, though, was #Covid19, as the country grappled with the deadly second wave of the pandemic. People turned to Twitter for both information and help. Many volunteered to find resources, mobilise help and connect people with leads for oxygen, hospital beds and medical supplies through this platform. The hashtag continued to be in play once vaccinations began, and people continued to tag their tweets as they started getting the jabs.

The second most used hashtag on Twitter was #FarmersProtest, continuing from 2020 into 2021. Politicians, celebrities, citizens and protesting farmers took to Twitter alike to share and exchange opinions, making it one of the most tweeted hashtags in India this year.

It was a busy year for Indian sport — and so was it for the sports community on Twitter, which sent across its opinions and reactions to #TeamIndia through this platform. From the men’s cricket team’s historic win at the Gabba to an unprecedented run at the Olympics and the Paralympics, sports aficionados turned Twitter into a virtual stadium with their cheers and support for the athletes.

The next most popular hashtag was #Tokyo2020, the Olympics where India won seven medals, followed by #IPL2021 and #IndVEng, led by India’s rollercoaster ride at the five-Test series in England this year.

The most retweeted tweet in the government was Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s (@narendramodi) sharing a picture of him getting his first Covid-19 vaccine.

Ratan Tata’s (@RNTata2000) tweet celebrating Tata Sons’ Air India win was the most retweeted tweet in the world of business. This October, the Tata Group welcomed Air India back after 68 years of the airlines being state-owned.

Meanwhile, Tamil actor Vijay (@actorvijay) unveiling his new movie, Beast, was the most retweeted and liked tweet in entertainment in 2021. Tamil speakers make for some of the most passionate audiences on Twitter, the microblogging platform said.

The most tweeted hashtags about digital assets were #Bitcoin, #BSC, #Crypto, #NFT and #DeFi.

“As noted by #Bitcoin’s entry into the most tweeted hashtags this year, people on Twitter in India engaged extensively in conversations around digital assets and cryptocurrencies. From blockchain networks like #BSC (Binance Smart Chain) to digital assets like #NFT (Non-Fungible Tokens), people were keen to learn about decentralised finance and several new digital concepts this year,” Twitter said.