6 days ago
Sharing Animal Memes Is Good for Your Health, According to a New Study
Sharing Animal Memes Is Good for Your Health, According to a New Study originally appeared on PetHelpful.
There are few things as enjoyable as scrolling through funny and adorable animal memes. Between the cute photos of baby critters, to the hilarious pictures people capture of their pet's antics, the internet is a wealth of images of animals that are perfect for sharing. But now, scientists say that hitting "send" on those animal memes may actually be good for you.
The study was published in the Journal of Consumer Research. In it, researchers compared the sharing of memes to an activity that penguins do called pebbling. 'Pebbling is a behavior practiced by Gentoo penguins who present pebbles to desired mates as tokens of affection,' Ghalia Shamayleh, the head researcher involved in the study, told BBC Science Focus. 'Our research observes a similar behavior in humans interacting on social media.'That behavior? Sharing adorable animal memes online. "We share them with our loved ones as a token of affection, to reinforce our relationships," Shamayleh explains, adding that content creators are especially guilty of pebbling, and it can be seen in the way they dress their pets up or talk about them, using phrases like "teefs," "doggo," and "sploot."
Of course, cute animal photos are pretty universally adored, making them easier to share with our loved ones. Not only that, but researchers discovered that people also put a lot of thought into what they're sharing, and with whom.
'By sharing animal content with the added reference to the sender's relationship, people digitally pebble their loved ones as though to say 'This made me think of you, of our relationship',' Shamayleh explains of those things we personalize with a note before we means the next time someone sends you an animal meme, they're doing more than just sending a funny picture, they're trying to tell you how much you mean to them... one cute kitten or fluffy "doggo" at a time.
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Sharing Animal Memes Is Good for Your Health, According to a New Study first appeared on PetHelpful on Jun 17, 2025
This story was originally reported by PetHelpful on Jun 17, 2025, where it first appeared.
