by Katie Heneghan Staff Writer
Many social media users are able to keep up to date with current events simply by looking at trending hashtags on Twitter, Instagram or other social media platforms. From sports to politics to pop culture, hashtags can give us a clue as to what’s on people’s minds.
Below are the most eye-catching and popular hashtags from this past week.
Sports
#RedSox #DoDamage
As the Boston Red Sox defeated the New York Yankees and the Houston Astros to claim their kingdom in the American League, hashtag “Do Damage” characterized their playoff run.
This slogan has been trending on Twitter and Instagram since the playoffs began, creating hype for Boston sports fans.
With that said, this could be tantalizing to some devoted Yankee fans and New Yorkers alike.
“Everyone’s always mocking the Red Sox and Boston sports, and we always come back and win. People get angry and aggressive towards us and we always come out on top in the end,” said Krista Sven, a Boston sports fan.
Politics
#Pelosi
The minority leader of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, is trending on Twitter after an exchange of passionate rhetoric regarding President Trump’s plans to build a border wall. This has ignited yet another political debate between Democrats and Republicans both on social media and in Washington.
#Canada
This is not your typical trending hashtag, however marijuana was legalized for recreational use in Canada on Wednesday, Oct. 17, making them the second country to legalize marijuana in the world.
“Canada should be used as an example of a country that has legalized recreational weed,” said senior Gabriel Ramirez. “We can also see the dangers of how companies can monopolize weed, and how they can add chemicals and fertilizers to alter the weed.”
Lottery
#MegaMillions
This past week the Mega Millions Jackpot hit a new record high at $1 billion. This is the highest jackpot in the lottery’s history.
This is catching the eye of students at Manhattan College.
“I’m definitely going to play the lottery now because of the high stakes jackpot, that’s a crazy amount of money,” said freshman Maren Kain.
Pop Culture
#SickoMode
This week in music, Travis Scott released his music video for his chart topping song “Sicko Mode” featuring Drake. #SickoMode was trending on Twitter shortly after the release of the video.
#CarrollSpinney
The voice behind Sesame Street’s Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, Caroll Spinney has announced he will be stepping down from his role as the childhood icon. This is the number one trending hashtag in New York on Twitter as of Wednesday, Oct. 17.
Manhattan College
#GoJaspers
#ManhattanCollege
Although these hashtags are not trending worldwide they are the most popular tags related to Manhattan College. “Go Jaspers” has been used nearly 5,000 times on Instagram while Manhattan College has been hashtagged on over 19,000 different instagram posts.