Squabbling babies? Why certain videos go viral
Social scientists and marketers are keenly interested in understanding why we're compelled to share certain videos (such as squabbling babies), and why some even prompt copycat memes. Read commentary on "13.7 cosmos & culture" by Berkeley psychology prof Tania Lombrozo.
February 3, 2016
Still from YouTube video (one of many) on squabbling twins.
When a friend passed along a “hilarious and heartbreaking” video of twin babies squabbling over a pacifier, Berkeley psychology professor Tania Lombrozo initially resisted the temptation to share it — but eventually succumbed, she writes on the National Public Radio website.
When Lombrozo did a search on YouTube, she turned up “more than 8,000 results for the search terms ‘twins fight over pacifier,'” she says. “This made me wonder: What makes such a mundane interaction between siblings so shareable?”
Social scientists, as well as marketers, have a keen interest in understanding why certain videos go viral, and which ones tend to prompt copycat memes. Read Lombrozo’s commentary on “13.7 cosmos & culture.”