Researchers from Concordia University (Canada) have discovered an unexpected way to combat toxicity on the Internet. According to a study published in the Journal of Consumer Research, posting photos and videos of cute animals creates a special “digital emotional contact” that softens the atmosphere on social networks.
Observations have shown that images of kittens, puppies and other charming animals evoke a feeling of affection in users, displacing aggression and negativity. Scientists have even coined a special term — digital pebbling (by analogy with penguins who give each other pebbles as a sign of affection). In the digital space, this is manifested through the exchange of memes with animals, the use of thematic hashtags and captions.
As the authors of the study note, such content is initially distributed in narrow circles, but often goes viral, losing the original context, but retaining emotional value. Interestingly, advertising on behalf of pet accounts is perceived by users as more sincere compared to traditional blogger posts.
An added benefit of such content is its educational impact. For example, an experiment in Philippine schools showed that students learned biology material better when learning was accompanied by animal memes. These findings confirm that cute images not only improve the online atmosphere, but can also be useful in other areas of life.
Observations have shown that images of kittens, puppies and other charming animals evoke a feeling of affection in users, displacing aggression and negativity. Scientists have even coined a special term — digital pebbling (by analogy with penguins who give each other pebbles as a sign of affection). In the digital space, this is manifested through the exchange of memes with animals, the use of thematic hashtags and captions.
As the authors of the study note, such content is initially distributed in narrow circles, but often goes viral, losing the original context, but retaining emotional value. Interestingly, advertising on behalf of pet accounts is perceived by users as more sincere compared to traditional blogger posts.
An added benefit of such content is its educational impact. For example, an experiment in Philippine schools showed that students learned biology material better when learning was accompanied by animal memes. These findings confirm that cute images not only improve the online atmosphere, but can also be useful in other areas of life.
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