2020 was a rough year for the world but there were moments of kindness and joy that helped draw us all together... while staying apart.
Positive news stories may have seemed few and far between at the time, but hindsight is always 20/20 (excuse the pun) and there were several standout moments that sparked kindness last year.
Wanting to remember some of the lighter bits of 2020, a new report commissioned by KIND Snacks shows how Irish people came together as one during the tough times - highlighting many of the remarkable acts of kindness that managed to rise above the otherwise overwhelming negativity.
Revealing the moments that had the biggest impact on how Ireland exercised kindness - particularly online - KIND Snacks identified a collection of phrases that repeatedly came up in tweets where people had spread kindness, or positively commented on another individual's act of kindness.
Using these terms, the team was then able to track how they had been used throughout the year, with The Late Late Toy Show charity appeal, the Clap for Carers and the Save Dublin Zoo campaign coming up as some of the events that caused the greatest positive reaction throughout the year.
Later displaying their findings on a Kind curve, the results are testament to the true Irish spirit and how people around the country rallied to lift each other up in times of despair.
According to the survey, here are the top eight moments that sparked kindness online in 2020:
- Government announces extraordinary measures for first national lockdown
- Launch of Clap for Carers campaign
- Number of global Covid-19 cases passes 1million mark
- GAA's community focus announced
- Matt Damon locks down in Dalkey
- Leo Varadkar quotes Mean Girls during nationwide Covid-19 briefing
- Joe Biden announced as next US President
- Tony Holohan steps back to care for wife
2021 may not be off to the best start but here's to another year of kindness and showing the world what the Irish are made of.
