Thursday / May 07 / 2015
5 reasons we’re so enthralled with #TBT
Throwback Thursday (aka: #TBT) is possibly the most popular hashtag ever. Many of us plan ahead what we’re going to post from week to week. We get excited as if celebrating a holiday. Are you among the masses?
Today, I posted this image of me with my grandmother because her birthday is this coming Saturday. I wholly adored her and her fiery spirit. I put a heart beside this fave pic and captioned it, “#TBT in honor my Grandma, who was born on the ninth of May in 1904 (she’d be 111 this Saturday!) She lived so vivaciously and without apology, one could say she devoured life. I want to live like that.”
It’s OK if you don’t get hashtags. Always preceded by the # sign, #hashtags help people find and deliver messages with a specific theme or content. Learn HOW to use hashtags here. As the social media gurus at Digital Trends will tell you, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly when Throwback Thursday started but they seem to have gained popularity around February 2012.
I PROPOSE THERE ARE FIVE REASONS WE’RE SO ENTHRALLED WITH #TBT
(1) We like the idea of connecting with people. One of my fondest memories is the passion with which Grandma shared family photographs and adventures; the way she gifted me with such a personal glimpse into her life. Each photograph inscribed on the reverse in her elegant penmanship; not just the name of the person in the photo but their whole lineage. #TBT is like sharing life over photo albums and green tea in your grandmother’s living room.
(2) It’s fun to reminisce about good times. Not only do we love hashtags, we love tagging people so they can reminisce with us. How many times have you posted a #TBT and then stalked your own post, just waiting for so-and-so to see it and comment? It’s particularly fun when someone posts a piece of the memory you’d forgotten.
#zekedonald
(3) Look at Me!!! #TBT is a covert, permissible way to post a picture in which you really like how YOU look (silly, handsome, cute, quirky). It’s nice to feel the love from social media friends telling you how ‘adorbs’ you were as a child or, how your son looks just like you. There’s something warming about this sense of being known.
(4) How else can one learn so much about people’s lives? Yes, sharing life over lunch or wine is ideal (even if it’s via Zoom like I’m doing more of now!) Throwback Thursday is the next best thing — and it happens weekly! With #TBT, we get a personal glimpse into people’s lives we would otherwise never enjoy.
(5) Let’s be honest. We feel COOL using hashtags. Yes, many of us even #makeuphashtags to somehow satisfy our need to be clever. Heck, I have a hashtag for my dog, complete with his middle name, #zekedonald It’s true. I’m one of those pet parents. #ilovemydog
Enough chatter. Let’s get out there and celebrate nostalgia. Can’t wait to see what next Throwback Thursday brings. Welcome to #theyouevolution
Leave a Reply