The Benefits of Watching Kitten Videos, According to Science

Kittens purring, sleeping, or doing something of their own. Puppies with floppy ears, barking at harmless objects, running, or invading their owners' personal space. No matter what our goal is in terms of productivity, there's always room for one more video that melts our hearts and brains. However, that doesn't have to be interpreted as something bad. According to a series of studies, watching kitten videos improves concentration and fine motor skills. Experts still don't know exactly why this happens, but there's a hypothesis.

Thousands of compilations on YouTube. Videos that go viral overnight. Animated GIFs on Facebook, WhatsApp chains, short clips on Snapchat. Cats, dogs, rabbits, ferrets, baby hippos (aww!)… the list goes on. All that material is very pleasant; we can't stop watching it… and we waste time! Between natural procrastination and kitten videos, productivity drops to subterranean levels, but maybe there's an advantage behind that madness. In the past we explored emotional benefits associated with these videos, and today it's the turn of aspects like focus and fine motor skills. Yes, watching kitten videos helps you concentrate and be more precise.

What Science Says

One of the first details experts have discovered is that the concept of 'Kindchenschema' or 'infant schema' (a set of facial features in babies that activate the desire to care for and protect them) is transferable to other species, meaning our responses tend to be similar when we see human, canine, feline, and more babies (of course, there are exceptions). In 2009, a study by psychologists at the University of Virginia, published in the journal Emotion revealed a link between viewing 'cute' images of dogs/cats and superior performance in precision and concentration tasks. In this case, 96 participants were measured in several rounds of Operation (read as Operando, the Hasbro game), and those who saw puppy and kitten photos played much better, with statistically significant differences.

Add to this a Japanese study from 2012 called The Power of Kawaii. In one of its experiments, participants had to search for specific digits within random matrices. In another, the task was to identify large letters made of smaller, different letters. All participants who, before starting, observed 'kawaii' photos of cats and dogs identified the digits in the matrices faster and detected secondary details in the letters more easily. Now, why do we see these results? Scientists believe it's an evolutionary product, the 'protection factor' in the infant schema. In other words, by being faster and more precise, our ancestors could better protect their young from a threat. There's still much to learn and verify. Until that happens… why don't we watch another video?