JOIN USNot long ago, the # symbol, otherwise called the hashtag, was created by Twitter users. These were meant to organise conversations on Twitter and make tweets searchable and linkable.
This special symbol was later adapted on Facebook and other forms of social media like Instagram. It was used to mark the keywords in a sentence and highlight a topic or content. However, fast forward to the current times and one can see hashtags being overused and abused. They have ended up being spams on social media. Is the overuse of hashtags resulting in mindless trends? Youngsters give their take.
All’s well
Jude Jacob, a student of business administration says, “There is nothing wrong in using hashtags. It highlights an important element and shows that something is different. But yes, they definitely create a hype. When you are on Twitter, everything depends on who you follow. Actors post stuff related to their personal life and one’s page is sure to get choked with these unnecessary hashtags. If one follows a sensible person, it is a different story.”
Spam boom
Ashwini Agarwal, a first-year BA student of St Joseph’s College says, “The concept of hashtag is not relevant. People do not know where to use it or even how to use it. There are useless trends that are spamming on Twitter due to the abuse of hashtags. Half the things that trend on social media are irrelevant. Important issues that need attention are often neglected while baseless things get unwanted publicity.”
The swaggers
Ankitha, a graduate from Christ University says, “Twitter and Instagram are flooded with irrelevant hashtags and they annoy me. Silly stuff from Bollywood find place on social media and they have a number of hashtags which make no sense. The irony is that nothing relevant trends with hashtag. One always sees unwanted things trend on social media. It is a total overdose and abuse of hashtags.”
Wrong priorities
Arash, a student of St Joseph’s College of Commerce says, “I am not on Twitter as I find it irritating to keep getting tweet updates. But I am well aware of the abuse of hashtags as they are being used on Facebook too. Every single word is hashtagged and I do not get the point of it. What is worse is that reading a sentence becomes tougher with the increased use of hashtags. We blindly follow the Western trends and spam the social media. There are words like ‘Crocin’ that trended on Twitter because of a politician. But important matters like budget find no place in here.”