Meow! Cats are the mascot of internet

We all have had that one friend who loves cats. I had two, and I remember they were called crazy cat people in college. This was early 2000s. Who would have thought that these supposed crazy cat people will bring in an internet revolution to make cats famous?

Say Hello Meow to cats

Well, for those who have no clue what I am talking about- cats have taken over the internet. It was only until recently that I heard this. I disregarded it initially as nerdy trivia. Later when I searched what it really meant, I was astounded by the huge following that cats seem to have on the internet. Apparently, cat pictures are the most viewed content online. Not babies, not dogs – cats! In fact some cats have even been bestowed certain names based on their looks and characteristics. There is Grumpy Cat, Maru- the master of boxes, Tatiana Angela Lansbury Romanov, Lil Bub and a lot more. They not only have following of the masses, but are also treated as celebrities. They also make up for most famous memes, GIFs and frequently watched videos on the internet.

Grumpy Cat

I am sure you are thinking how did this happen? And why cats? This is a puzzle that many have tried to solve and the most obvious answers lie with human psychology and internet culture.

Why cats?

Cats are a disinterested lot. Ask any cat lover how difficult it is to get cats to look at the camera or to pose for them. While dogs may try to do that to impress their owners, cats just don’t care. This very behavior is what humans unknowingly find appealing. It is what they want to be. They want to be their own boss and do their own thing. This logic only constitutes one part of the explanation. The other is a social psychology term called pluralistic ignorance- when a majority of people hold a certain belief but feel alone in it. A majority of people like cats (over dogs as is commonly believed) but they don’t know it. They think that they are the only ones who do. Hence they find an instant connect with cat videos that go viral. It makes them happy to believe that someone like them exists and is just a few clicks away. Such is the fascination of cats that groups have also conducted virtual cat meetups.

Venus- the two faced cat

The other explanation is that of internet culture and how it is defined. Results of a survey conducted on what people perceive as internet culture revealed that it depends on different countries. While in China, where internet censorship is a serious issue people use memes to voice their political opinions. On the other hand, Americans take internet as a casual means of entertainment. Cat pictures, memes and videos happen to be the reason they find themselves online. Americans also have a big influence on the global Internet culture because they spend a whole lot of time online. Here is one video that has more than a hundred million views so far.

What next?

What fascinates me that it took us these feline creatures to realise what the purpose of internet is. To find like-minded people without having to reveal your identity. We love to live in the shadows but yet find it comforting that each of us have company in our weirdness and idiosyncrasy. Something else that catches our fancy in our a few years may replace the cat. There may be a new internet mascot. Or maybe not. But the correlation of human psychology and how it perceives the internet will stay.

Here is another compilation of funny cat videos. 🙂

References:

https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/internet-culture-different-countries/

https://www.wired.com/2015/08/how-cats-took-over-the-internet/

Image source: https://www.boredpanda.com/famous-cats/