There has been increasing criticism of the use of social media, particularly in politics, but nonetheless, social media also helped recognize and promote positive events as well.
One of the best things about the end of the year is the opportunity it gives us to reflect on the past, while we prepare for the year ahead. In the spirit of reflection, Facebook released its summary of the world’s top moments and events that generated the most buzz in 2019.
Among the top news and issues of 2018:
- International Women’s Day – generated a wide-ranging discussion about issues, causes, and topics that impact women around the globe.
- March for Our Lives – spear-headed by survivors of the Parkland, Florida school shooting generated action around the world, with more than 1 million people interested and more than $2.5 million raised through Facebook fundraisers.
- Political engagement – the U.S. Midterm Elections and the Brazilian Presidential election were topics of intense focus and conversation about politics and voting around the world.
- Sports – The World Cup engaged 383 million soccer fans and Super Bowl 52 engaged another 62 million people.
The top moments of were measured by how frequently a topic was mentioned in a single day on Facebook made between January 1 and November 11, 2018.
Which national and global events did you follow and share last year?
Group Activities and Discussion Questions:
- Discuss the importance of market research. What are sources that can be used? Why is tracking trends important?
- Bring up the site and show the video: https://newsroom.fb.com/news/2018/12/facebooks-2018-year-in-review/
- Divide students into teams and have each team examine a different Facebook topic.
- What are the trends from that topic?
- How can these trends be used to develop new products?
- Debrief the exercise by listing the ideas from each team.
Source: Neman, S. (6 December 2018). Facebook’s 2019 year in review. Facebook.