The Sweet And Pure Habit That Bonds Friends Better Than Any Other
Don't underestimate the power of an adorable animal.
Antonio Guillem | Shutterstock In today's digital age, most friendships involve long text chains, full of inside jokes, memes, and TikToks sent back and forth. While this may sound superficial, the practice actually strengthens social bonds. And, according to recent research, sending one specific type of content bonds friends especially well.
One sweet and pure habit bonds friends better than any other.
A recent study found that sending animal content to your friends has an outsized impact on your relationship. Whether you prefer posts of cute kittens in costumes or videos of exotic creatures, like monkeys and tigers, animals have a way of bringing people together, even online.
"Friends share animal content on social media to foster and strengthen relationships," the researchers noted. "This results in intimacy with a human other through techno-affective encounters."
It's especially impactful when the animal content is tailored specifically to the friend in question. Rather than sending a generic, albeit adorable, picture of a puppy, sharing a post about your friend's favorite animal or something that reminds you of them is more beneficial to your relationship.
"For example," the researchers wrote, "someone may send their friend content depicting two baby pandas struggling to stand up, along with some text accompanying the content: 'You and me at our first yoga class.'" Pet content combined with a shared experience is a powerful bonding tool that reaffirms your shared history.
The researchers compared this practice to 'pebbling,' a behavior common among penguins.
Gentoo penguins, a species native to sub-Antarctic islands, show their love by gifting their desired mate a pebble. "The young male gentoos, about one to two years old, present their worthiness to a female with a gift: a stone, perfectly shined from the ocean’s waves," One Earth digital media manager Lindsey Jean Schueman explained. "If a female is impressed, she too will find a stone, and they will go back and forth collecting the perfect rock collection until a nest is built."
In digital pebbling, no physical rocks are involved. Instead, carefully curated social media content is shared back and forth, building a relationship rather than a nest. "Like penguins," the researchers said, "humans share online content with others on social platforms to express affection and appreciation, keep in touch, and strengthen their connections."
Though they're not perfectly shined pebbles, animal posts shared online strengthen emotional bonds. They remind your loved ones that you care and are thinking about them. Plus, who wouldn't want to see an adorable animal when they check their notifications?
Helena Lopes | Pexels
Animal content is also stress-reducing.
Aside from serving as a token of affection for your loved ones, animal content is also good for your health. So, really, you're doing your friends a favor by sending repeated videos of dogs who have the zoomies.
A study conducted by the University of Leeds in the U.K. found that consuming content of cute animals can reduce stress by up to 50%. Study participants watched a 30-minute montage of cute animals, from kittens and puppies to baby gorillas, while researchers monitored their heart rates and blood pressure.
“Throughout the course of the session, heart rates and blood pressure fell across all individuals to a level that would be considered healthy and indicative of limited stress or anxiety," Dr. Andrea Utley, an associate professor at the University of Leeds, said.
The participants' anxiety was also measured using the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, a self-assessment method. "The findings had shown a significant drop in anxiety levels, in some individual cases even by almost 50%, proving that watching cute animals can be a powerful stress reliever and a mood enhancer," they reported.
So, keep those animal videos coming! They're good for your stress levels AND your relationships.
Audrey Jaber is a writer and associate editor with a bachelor's degree in journalism.
