Can a hashtag's activity measure how happy or how sad individuals are online? The hashtag #thestruggle trended on Twitter recently after users took the opportunity to vent frustrations and talk about daily life challenges within the 140-character limit.
The "struggles" varied, with some centered around school (showing that many of the hashtag's patrons were students), work or at home. Other tweets were a combination of sarcasm and fun, poking fun Friday night classes, having to deal with a small allowance or balancing athletics and academics. By looking at the types of tweets sent, it is clear that the hashtag's main focus are college students and their particular stressors.
Many students shared pictures of how they prepare waffles in the most unique way, what they were planning to wear for class and even tips on how to sleep in class without getting caught. Many talked about being broke or getting injured while trying to catch the train or playing sports. There were also announcements on concert and game schedules, shout outs to secret crushes and lining up at the cafeteria. There were also tweets about food, their favorite midnight snacks and photos of food ruining their clothes.
Even those who have long graduated shared through #thestruggle how things have changed since the time they were staying in dormitories and hosting frat parties. Students studying away from home shared pictures of their rooms and tweeted how boring things can be during the first few weeks after the transfer.
It was basically an online venting channel and cheatsheet for surviving student life -- and trend it did! To date, the hashtag has generated over 195,000 tweets and made nearly 282 million impressions. And as we can see from this graph, the activity continues as of this writing.
Courtesy of Hashtags.org Analytics>
How about you? Do you have stories to share on #thestruggle? Post them in the comments!
Courtesy of Hashtags.org Analytics>
