Cat piano videos are good for your health. A scientific study says so.
28 September 2020, 16:40 | Updated: 28 September 2020, 17:05
A survey of nearly 7,000 Internet users revealed that watching cute cat videos is good for your health. This is important.
Feeling bad about not practising? Guilty about music theory-based procrastination? Or perhaps you just want to feel better about the world in general?
A scientific study says that Internet cats could be for you...
Exhibit one: a video about a cat who loves to sleep in a piano.
The best lullaby for a cat
Back in 2015 Jessica Myrick, an Assistant Professor of Media at Indiana University, surveyed 6,795 Internet users and tested associations between personality traits, past behaviour and viewing cat-related media online.
Read more: Naughty cat disrupts live orchestra concert and steals the show >
Her study correlates viewing ‘Internet cats’, our motivations for consuming this media, and its potential effects on viewers.
This is Winslow, a seven-year-old tabby cat who plays the piano when he wants food. What “potential effect” does Winslow have on you?
Cat learns to play piano to tell his owners when he needs feeding
In an article about her findings, Myrick highlights the keyboard cat as one of the Internet’s most viral videos (it’s great that the magic of cats and pianos is now supported by em-purr-ical data).
Myrick claims her study “showed that cat videos can positively influence the emotions of viewers.” She says the pleasure gained from watching feline films can often outweigh the guilt of procrastination.
Does this confounded cat’s pianistic mishap make your feel more or less guilty about procrastination?
Alarmed cat struggles to jump off piano as he gets scared when paws hit keys
“People in my study reported experiencing more positive emotions and having higher energy levels after watching cat videos than before. They also reported lower levels of negative emotions after viewing online cat-related content,” the professor said.
So, if you’re feeling guilty about not practising, you know what to do...
