Data shows that there were more than 2 million cat videos posted on YouTube in 2014, with almost 26 billion views. Cat videos had more views per video than any other category of YouTube content.
The results?
The participants said they felt energetic and positive after watching cat videos online with negative emotions such as anxiety, annoyance and sadness, decreasing afterwards. They said that they would watch the videos at work or while studying.
25 % of the cat videos watched were looked up by the participants while the rest were ones they had stumbled upon, indicating that these videos are viral and everywhere. Around 36 % of the participants alleged being “cat persons”, while about 60 % claimed liking both cats and dogs.
[quote type=”border_left”]Some people may think watching online cat videos isn’t a serious enough topic for academic research, but the fact is that it’s one of the most popular uses of the Internet today, Myrick said. If we want to better understand the effects the Internet may have on us as individuals and on society, then researchers can’t ignore Internet cats anymore.[/quote]
[quote type=”border_left”]We all have watched a cat video online, but there is really little empirical work done on why so many of us do this, or what effects it might have on us, added Myrick, who owns a pug but no cats. As a media researcher and online cat video viewer, I felt compelled to gather some data about this pop culture phenomenon. Even if they are watching cat videos on YouTube to procrastinate or while they should be working, the emotional pay-off may actually help people take on tough tasks afterward, Myrick said.[/quote]
Click here for the full study.
Now, go watch some cat videos and feel good 🙂
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tntOCGkgt98
