October 28, 2016
Professor Jessica Myrick, assistant professor at the Indiana University Media School, has recently been investigating this phenomenon. She conducted a survey of 6,795 internet users who followed local Bloomington celebrity cat Little Bub, and asked how often they viewed cat and other animal videos, as well as why they watched the videos, among many other measures. The results were used to test a conceptual model of the relationship between procrastination, enjoyment, and happiness. (Professor Myrick donated 10 cents of her own money to Lil Bub’s foundation for needy animals for each participant who took the survey, raising almost $700.)
She found that the people most likely to view cat videos are agreeable, anxious, and shy; they also own or have owned cats. Few people actively seek out cat videos beyond structuring their social media experience to expose them to such content. When they do come into contact with cat videos, though, internet users are very likely to ‘like’, share, and/or comment on the contents. Professor Myrick also found that people felt more energetic and positive and that they experienced fewer negative emotions such as anxiety, sadness, or annoyance after watching cat videos. In the future she hopes to investigate the possibility of using cat videos as a form of low-cost pet therapy.
Her research has been featured on the BBC’s Why Factor and in the IU Bloomington Newsroom. She also has published an article about the study:
Myrick, J. G. (2015). Emotion regulation, procrastination, and watching cat videos online: Who watches Internet cats, why, and to what effect? Computers in Human Behavior, 52, 168-176.doi:0.1016/j.chb.2015.06.001