David Bowie. Image: chrisdorney/Shutterstock
Politics, sport and celebrity deaths were the takeaway themes from Facebook’s year in review, with elections both sides of the Atlantic topping the charts.
The most talked-about topic on Facebook in Ireland this year was, pretty understandably, the US presidential election, with social media proving a key platform for Donald Trump’s ascension to the highest seat in US public office.
The Irish general election was the second most popular topic to discuss, with Brexit rounding out a particularly political top three.
The Rio Olympics, Euro 2016, the All-Ireland final and the Six Nations made up the sporting events in the list, with the Easter Rising, the Rose of Tralee and David Bowie’s death also featuring in the top ten.
Commenting on the results, Gareth Lambe, head of Facebook Ireland, said the broad range of topics show the “breadth of subjects” discussed on the platform.
“Every day, people turn to Facebook to connect with their friends and family on the issues and events that matter most to them,” he said.
“The Easter Rising appears on the list, demonstrating how people across Ireland took to Facebook to share their thoughts, videos, photos and experiences of the centenary celebrations.”
On a global sense, again the US presidential election topped the charts, with Brazilian politics and Pokémon Go pushing Black Lives Matter down to fourth place.
Elsewhere, the Philippines’ president Rodrigo Duterte, the Super Bowl and Muhammad Ali’s death featured alongside Rio 2016, Brexit and Bowie.
The Trump allure is no surprise, as a show on his election campaign also featured in YouTube’s own review of 2016.
‘Chewbacca Mom’ visiting Facebook. Image: Facebook/Christophe Wu
It’s the first year of Facebook Live too, so the company revealed the most popular videos on that platform. Of course, Chewbacca Mom features quite heavily.
The top Facebook Live videos in Ireland were:
- The Byrne Brothers, Byrne Brothers Dancing in Eyre Square
- TG4, Irish dancers in Inis
- The Irish Sun, Ronan Keating duets with his daughter Ali
- Brown’s Boys TV Series, Mrs. Brown’s Boys Live
Globally:
- Candace Payne, Chewbacca Mom
- Ted Yoder, Soundscapes
- BuzzFeed, Countdown to the next presidential election
- Atlanta Buzz, People are lining up to hug police officers in Dallas
- NBC News, Election results
- Under the Hood, Video of a truck completely carved out of wood
- Viral Thread, Population count from US to CA
- CNN, Election results on Empire State building
- Dena Blizzard, Pokémon Go for moms “Chardonnay Go”
- Super Deluxe, Election map
David Bowie. Image: chrisdorney/Shutterstock
