Why kittens rule the internets

On its face, the exhibit sounds a bit like Tumblr IRL: cat GIFs cast onto the white walls of two galleries, adorable felines kissing and scampering in endless loops. Look closer, and there's actually something deeper in the way cats took over the Internet. In creating the exhibit, curator Jason Eppink has launched an investigation into a distinctly Internet-era puzzle.

He looked at data from social media sites, read tomes on the psychology of cuteness, and considered a few economic principles. He had a central question: If cats only make up a tiny percent of all online content less than one percent of mentions on Reddit, for instance , and are second to dogs in terms of online meme exposure in the United States, at least , how do you explain the outsize amount of attention they receive? Of course we love pictures of them! Although true, that is far too simplistic an explanation.

Cuteness varies from culture to culture, and often has more to do with how we socialize with animals than with their objective adorableness. Sure, occasionally someone will post a fluffy red panda freaking out about a rock.

Or a chicken running around in pants. Cats exploring. Cats chasing a laser light. Cats dressed in costumes. In fact, cat videos are such a phenom, there have been international cat-video festivals and cat-video museum exhibits. You never know how they will react to various stimuli. Natural feline agility helps too, making it super funny when a sudden sound occurs and a cat leaps through the air as though the floor just turned to lava.

Also, most cats are hard to read with their oft-blank glares. Are they happy or sad? Mad or just plain evil? Create a personalised ads profile. Select personalised ads.

Apply market research to generate audience insights. Measure content performance. Develop and improve products. List of Partners vendors. By Laura Moss Laura Moss. Laura Moss is a journalist with more than 15 years of experience writing about science, nature, culture, and the environment. Learn about our editorial process. Share Twitter Pinterest Email.

Why a Squirrel's Personality Makes a Difference. Your Privacy Rights. So that might explain the origin of the trend. But why do cats cast a different spell than dogs over the internet? The latter makes for some compelling content. Keyboard Cat has over 41 million views since being posted to YouTube in Credit: YouTube. It also has to do with voyeurism. Dogs interact with the camera more, as evidenced in viral hits like Ultimate Dog Tease.

Instead, it makes us more interested, and want to watch the video. Grumpy Cat rests surrounded by toys modeled after her at Toyfair in New York. Credit: Shutterstock.