#Covid-19, #GE2020 top hashtags in Singapore on Twitter this year

Dec 09, 2020 06:00 am

In its annual trends report released yesterday, Twitter revealed that many had turned to the micro-blogging platform in light of Covid-19.

This mirrored the global trend, which also saw the pandemic taking the top spot among the most tweeted hashtags.

"Unsurprisingly, #covid19 is Singapore's top hashtag as many turned to Twitter for timely updates on developments and to share their thoughts on the situation," it said in its release.

It added that the hashtag and variations of it were used in 400 million tweets globally.

Twitter noted that it was also because of social distancing as a result of Covid-19 that many turned to the virtual space for GE2020, which was the second top hashtag in Singapore.

DEBATES AND DISCUSSIONS

It said the election in July was a hotly contested affair with more debates and discussions taking place on social media compared with previous years.

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The third, fourth and fifth spots went to hashtags related to video games, a possible side effect of the pandemic, as more people tried to find their own source of indoor entertainment.

Among the top 10 tweeted about accounts in Singapore were Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong and Workers' Party MP Raeesah Khan, who took the 10th and 9th spots respectively.

Singapore's blogfather Lee Kin Mun, better known as mrbrown, took seventh place, while the top spot went to Mr Yeo Tze Hern, better known as Yeolo, who is known for videos and memes parodying events and often current affairs topics.

Social media expert Lars Voedisch, founder of PRecious Communications, said the review was a good reflection of people's minds.

"This year was sort of an unbalancing or re-balancing because of Covid-19," he said. "A lot of people turned to social media for entertainment, information and connection."

He said this had resulted in the "most social" election and added that memes have gone mainstream.

"You see memes in most discussions across all topics, from sports and K-pop to politics and Covid-19... It has become mainstream because it resonates with people by looking at what are real issues and problems, but with a lighter touch."