Okay, so correct me if I’m wrong, but it’s only recently that people have become obsessed with cute animals right? I don’t mean to say that pre-2015 everyone hated puppies and thought baby goats were ugly, but I don’t remember there being such a huge culture surrounding animals and them being adorable. I personally think, although animals have always been at the forefront of what people find cute, social media had a huge role in proliferating the adoration of fuzzy creatures in popular culture.

Think about it. Before Twitter and Facebook and Instagram really became what they are today, they were just about posting things that related to us and our own lives: what we were doing, how we were feeling, etc. The only time we really freaked out about a cute animal was when we physically saw it, and even then it was just the standard “Oh my gosh, look how cute that dog is”. But then, somewhere along the way, we shifted to posting about dogs, and cats, and bunnies, and goats, and otters, and more and it was like we had just been introduced to a new highly addictive drug. That “oh my gosh” when we see a cute pet in the park was now “HOLY SHIT LOOK HOW FRICKEN ADORABLE” on the internet and something even more fanatical in person. It all began when someone thought it was a good idea to start taking pictures of and videotaping their pets or animals they saw at the zoo doing cute or silly things and post it on the internet. People then proceeded to lose their shit. It’s like they’ve never seen a puppy before.

The weirdest thing is that this national, or perhaps even international at this point, phenomenon is feeding itself. There’s a literal Facebook group that’s dedicated to nothing but people posting pictures and videos of dogs from around the world so other users can like and comment and tag other friends who like and comment and tag more friends and so on. And there’s a twitter account with nearly 2 million followers, one that I think has made some of the biggest contributions to this craze, that’s dedicated solely to rating dogs. It’s going to continue to grow and grow until we ultimately elect a dog as president with a baby duck as VP and a chinchilla for pope (slightly exaggerated to make a point). But, I’m completely serious when I say cute animal culture is the biggest trend I’ve ever experienced on social media—and I was around on Facebook when “To be honest” statuses were still a thing.

It’s amazing what social media can do to an entire population. The same way memes are now an accepted form of communication both on the internet and in person, cute animals are no longer just a way to relieve stress when taking a break from homework, but a way of life. People own corgi paraphernalia and watch approximately 27 cat videos per day and I can’t help but realize this has happened before our very eyes. And of course I’m not in any way denouncing this culture, I couldn’t be more supportive of the embarrassingly high number of husky Instagram accounts I follow. All I’m saying is we’re a weird generation.