The hashtag turned 14 on Monday, helping social media users discover and set online trends for a decade and a half now.
Much has changed for the entire world wide web since then, as over the time, individual users, brands, and even governments coalesced around the use of hashtags to spark conversation, forcing platforms like Twitter and eventually Facebook to institutionalize the feature.
In celebration of the hashtag's birthday, dubbed #HashtagDay, Twitter Philippines announced the top ten hashtags that defined the first half of 2021 in the world's social media capital.
1: #AribaRabiya
At rank #1 is #AribaRabiya, the official campaign hashtag of Rabiya Mateyo who represented the Philippines to a Top 21 semifinal finish at the Miss Universe 2020 pageant. This only proves how pageant-crazed the country is, as a single event managed to generate this much tweets.
2 and 3: #ArtPH and #bgyo
Most hashtags in the list concern cultural and entertainment trends. Ranking second is #ArtPH, a popular hashtag in the Philippine art community used by artists (mostly amateurs) to promote their art on the platform.
At third is #bgyo, which is used by fans of the five-member Filipino boy group of the same name. BGYO debuted in 2021 as a product of ABS-CBN's Starhunt Academy.
4: #BTSMeal
McDonalds announced in April that it would be releasing a special meal in partnership with K-pop international sensation BTS. Since then and even after its June release, Filipinos, led by BTS' Army, haven't stopped talking about it since.
5 to 9: #DarrenEspanto, #GenshinImpact, #MaineMendoza #Mayward, #SB19
Fandoms of traditional Filipino celebrities are still more active online than ever, notwithstanding today's influencer culture where one no longer has to appear on TV to become popular. Included in the list is the hashtag dedicated to singer Darren Espanto (#5).
Actress Maine Mendoza, who rose to popularity via the internet but eventually ended up on a noontime show as "Yaya Dub", is at rank 7. Celebrity loveteam Mayward of Maymay Entrata and Edward Barber trailed behind at rank 8, while the hashtag SB19, another five-member group boy band, placed ninth.
The only non-celebrity hashtag in this group is that of Genshin Impact, an action role-playing game that became popular in 2020.
10: #StopAsianHate
Since 2020, the rise in hate crimes against members of the Asian community in the U.S. spurred concerns of racism, prompting the #StopAsianHate movement. With some Filipino-Americans not excused from harm, Filipinos on the internet joined in solidarity, also prompting government officials to call for their protection by American authorities.
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