By Katie Meyer

Feel good, especially feel-bad-then-feel-good, stories dominated social media in 2015.

The feel-bad-first stories have the same arc: Ahmed Mohamed was taken to jail for building a clock; Tim Tai was shut out of a protest; and Sean O’Brien was mocked for shimmying in public. All three were excluded in real life and then radically included on social media, going viral as a result. For Jim Cantore, the definition of a feel good story, excitement about thundersnow proved contagious.

And then there are oddball outliers, like Emo Kylo Ren — heir to the viral throne of @DepressedDarth.

Do people who go viral for different reasons go viral in the same way? Will any of the 2015 viral sensations last, or are their fifteen minutes of fame collectively over?

Sean O’Brien, The Dancing Man

In March, a video of Liverpool native Sean O’Brien dancing his heart out was posted on 4chan. Caption: “Spotted this specimen trying to dance the other week. He stopped when he saw us laughing.”

The 4chan thread attracted hundreds of cruel jokes at Sean’s expense before LA writer Cassandra Fairbanks tracked Sean down on Twitter to voice her support. Others rushed to defend Sean and he snowballed into a sensation. A GoFundMe was launched and a party organized in his honour in Hollywood — Meghan Trainor, Monica Lewinsky, and Moby in attendance.

How did the faith-in-humanity-restored phenomenon play out on social media?