What Social Media Platforms Can Teach Us About 2020 Trends

One of the most fun ways to experience the year in review is to read some of the recaps produced by the social media networks based on all the data they gather throughout the year. Pinterest offered one of the most insightful reports of the year, featuring predictions like “Skinimalism” and “Getaway Cars”. Facebook divided their recap region by region, spotlighting Neo Banking in Mexico, the Joy of Reading in Australia and Expanding Connectivity in India.

Twitter was ironically one of the quieter recaps, highlighting just a handful of popular tweets from the year including one about the passing of Chadwick Boseman and a viral tweet from Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin promising to make us all feel old by reminding us all that he just turned 40. Yup, it worked for me.

Google also created their traditional video about the year in search (which was really more of an ad than a recap, but still interesting). And finally, YouTube produced a video recap of the year divided into thematic chapters, predictably gathering some of the year's most popular videos (and their creators) for a behind the scenes look at 2020's most memorable moments.

Together these recaps felt like the ideal way to relive a hard year, with the year's entertaining, funny and trivial moments mashed right up next to the powerful, important and life-altering ones. Honestly sometimes it felt hard to tell the difference.