Boo!

If you haven't heard about him, seen his Facebook page, or viewed some of his adorable YouTube videos: meet Boo. Boo is a Pomerian, who is taking the Internet world by storm with his cuteness. Not only is he "liked" by 22 of my Facebook friends, Boo currently has 855, 141 total "Likes" on Facebook. (And the count climbs daily) This completely lovable, captivating puppy has even been spotlighted on celebrity Khloe Kardashian's blog. Not that I buy into celebrity hype like the rest of America... But it just shows that this dog has surely gotten around on the web, even to those who some of America consider the elite class. (Ps. I'm using the word "elite" very lightly here..) Now that the undeniable cuddliness of this dog has been established, the real question is just how has Boo (as well as some other furry friends) become such a viral sensation? Well, I can actually think of a multitude reasons, differentiating for various age groups. 

Let's begin with teenagers, the age when most usually begin surfing the web without parental supervision. When we don't feel like doing work, or somehow become distracted, and end up on a cyberspace tangent, most typically turn to Facebook to fulfill their procrastination needs. Once there, the newsfeed can lead you anywhere, seriously- the possibilities are endless with status updates, "likes," pictures, and wall posts. Fortunately, I did not have to do any personal facebooking to discover Boo, as one of my friends posted a picture of the adorable pup to my wall. After visiting his other daily photos, I was instantly hooked and began showing his page to my other friends so they would not miss out on the opportunity to have their day brightened by Boo too. Little did I know, I sparked a Boo obsession between my closest friends, and we now compete almost daily to find the cutest, most precious photo of the Pomerian. Anyways, the vicious circle plays out in such a manner as mentioned before: one person stumbles upon the cute animal and feels compelled to share the link with their closest friends, who sends that link to their closest friends, who sends the same link to another set of people, etc. 

Next, I think it's important to examine the way moms and women in their late 30s and beyond use the internet to share their thoughts. Using my own Mom and her friends as an example, I can honestly say that I do not think anyone has as many "status updates" or "tweets" as this group of women. For some reason, it seems as though they feel compelled to make every single thought that crosses their mind public and available for others to comment on. So, when one of them discovered Boo and posted a photo of the dog as her status, the rest of the women submitted endless comments on the photo and even copied the link for emailing purposes. BAM! Another vicious circulation of Boo's photos, this time via email instead of Facebook like the teenagers. 

Finally, the routine following of furry friends like Boo have become such a large part of our lives, especially for the workers in their 20s and 30s, because it provides a break from their hectic and unappealing business lives. Taking a quick look at something as precious as Boo can brighten someone's day instantly, especially if they are an animal lover. Come on, his eyes are the textbook definition of puppy dog eyes. Looking at Boo's cute and cuddly pictures can make you feel all warm and happy for at least a minute or two, and this is a nice break from most images in the media depicting devastation, war, and tragedy. 

Here I leave you with a couple of videos of Boo, but don't say I didn't warn you when the next time you look at the clock two hours have passed...