To those who own a dog, the dog owns their heartbeats. For these two moms, their love for their dog was magnified so much more when they received a cutesy letter. Their neighbor, a ten-year-old boy named Troy, had written this letter proposing his friendship with his neighbor’s golden retriever. As soon as the letter from the fourth grader was shared in an Instagram post, their dog, named Arthur, became famous. In the letter, the boy asked the neighbors, if he could babysit their dog after the pandemic and take him for a walk. Written in red and blue markers, the letter read, “Hello neighbor, my name is Troy. I am in 4th grade and I’m just wondering if maybe after this virus, you need a dog sitter, and if so then I can take your dog on walks and more.” Later, they shared Troy’s letter on Arthur’s Instagram account, @arthurthefloof, “I made friends with a small hooman today. He’s like basically me-sized. I bet I can get him to give me more treats than my hoomans.”
Not only did people compliment the heartwarming gesture of the little boy, but also threw oodles of flattering remarks about the cuteness of the fluffy creature. Others remarked that this is such a fabulous story.
Image Source: Instagram | andujar_anamaria
Image Source: Instagram | lidorith
In some of the follow-up "pupdates" on their Instagram, the neighbors wrote how a playdate was arranged for Arthur and Troy. In one post, they wrote, “Guess who’s meeting Troy today?”
In a later post, they wrote, “Hello to all my new frens. Just a quick pupdate - me and the smol neighbor had a really great (socially distant) play date today. Because he’s so smol we didn’t take any pics just for privacy purposes but he told me all about his dog fren and even showed me some dance moves! I have a feeling we’re gonna be best buds!”
Apparently, the social media page of Arthur slowly gained popularity after this letter. On this account, they usually post everything from small pup-dates to Arthur’s walks around forests, beaches and streets. In one post, for example, they shared how Arthur had stumbled upon a bunch of kids while taking a walk across the street, “Having the best day! Took a walk in the middle of the street and met some kids with water guns who gave me a little bath.”
Apart from this, on their Instagram page, they also share pics of Arthur sitting in front of treats and gift boxes. Some posts are also related to Arthur snapshotted along with his fluffy chocolate brown companion named Dwight. According to another post, they revealed that Arthur got to spend a little time with Troy before they moved on to Utah.
Image Source: Instagram | arthurthefloof
In their last note cherishing the memories of Troy’s and Arthur’s friendship, they wrote, “For the last day before my birthday, I had to look back on the thing that brought me all you! Thanks to my pal down the hall I made so many internet frens this year. Just as an update, Troy and I hung out a lot before I moved to Utah! This will always be our fav quarantine memory.”
Astonishingly, Arthur has also been featured by Time magazine, the detail of which his owners shared in yet another Instagram post, “So excited to announce I’ve been named @time’s Person of the Year!”
It is usually said that happiness is owning a cute pup, and in the case of these moms, Arthur is the perfect testimony to this!
This article originally appeared 8 months ago.
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Why do some folks use social media but don't engage?
Psychologist says people who never comment on social media share these 5 positive traits
For over 20 years, social media has developed into a staple in many people’s day-to-day lives. Whether it’s to keep in communication with friends and family, following the thoughts of celebrities, or watching cat videos while sipping your morning coffee, there seem to be two types of social media users: commenters and lurkers.
The term “lurker” sounds equally mysterious and insidious, with some social media users writing them off as non-participants at best or voyeurs at worst. However, mindfulness expert Lachlan Brown believes these non-commenters have some very psychologically positive and healthy traits. Let’s take a look at how each one of these traits could be beneficial and see how fruitful lurking might be even though it can drive content creators crazy.
1. Cautious about vulnerability
Consciously or not, making a post online or commenting on one puts you and your words out there. It’s a statement that everyone can see, even if it’s as simple as clicking “like.” Doing so opens yourself up to judgment, with all the good, bad, and potential misinterpretation that comes with it. Non-commenters would rather not open themselves up to that.
These silent users are connected to a concept of self-protection by simply not engaging. By just scrolling past posts or just reading/watching them without commentary, they’re preventing themselves from any downsides of sharing an opinion such as rejection, misunderstanding, or embarrassment. They also have more control on how much of themselves they’re willing to reveal to the general public, and tend to be more open face-to-face or during one-on-one/one-on-few private chats or DMs. This can be seen as a healthy boundary and prevents unnecessary exposure.
Considering many comment sections, especially involving political topics, are meant to stir negative emotional responses to increase engagement, being extra mindful about where, when, and what you comment might not be a bad idea. They might not even take the engagement bait at all. Or if they see a friend of theirs post something vulnerable, they feel more motivated to engage with them personally one-on-one rather than use social media to publicly check in on them.
2. Analytical and reflective mindset
How many times have you gone onto Reddit, YouTube, or any other site and just skimmed past comments that are just different versions of “yes, and,” “no, but,” or “yes, but”? Or the ever insightful, formerly popular comment “First!” in a thread? These silent browsers lean against adding to such noise unless they have some valid and thoughtful contribution (if they bother to comment period).
These non-posters are likely wired on reflective thinking rather than their initial intuition. Not to say that all those who comment aren’t thoughtful, but many tend to react quickly and comment based on their initial feelings rather than absorbing the information, thinking it over, researching or testing their belief, and then posting it. For "lurkers," it could by their very nature to just do all of that and not post it at all, or share their thoughts and findings privately with a friend. All in all, it’s a preference of substance over speed.
3. High sense of self-awareness
Carried over from the first two listed traits, these silent social media users incorporate their concern over their vulnerability and their reflective mindset into digital self-awareness. They know what triggers responses out of them and what causes them to engage in impulsive behavior. It could be that they have engaged with a troll in the past and felt foolish. Or that they just felt sad after a post or got into an unnecessary argument that impacted them offline. By knowing themselves and seeing what’s being discussed, they choose to weigh their words carefully or just not participate at all. It’s a form of self-preservation through restraint.
4. Prefer to observe rather than perform
Some folks treat social media as information, entertainment, or a mix of both, and commenting can feel like they’re yelling at the TV, clapping alone in a movie theater when the credits roll, or yelling “That’s not true!” to a news anchor that will never hear them. But contrary to that, social media is a place where those yells, claps, and accusations can be seen and get a response. By its design, social media is considered by experts and the media as performative, regardless of whether it is positive or negative. Taking all of the previously mentioned traits into account, one can see why they would prefer to “observe the play” rather than get up on the stage of Facebook or X.
On top of that, these non-commenters could be using social media differently than those who choose to fully engage with it. Using this type of navigation, there may be nothing for them to comment about. Some commenters are even vying for this for their mental health. There are articles about how to better curate your social media feeds and manipulate algorithms to create a better social media experience to avoid unnecessary conflict or mentally tiring debate.
If you go on a blocking spree on all of your accounts and just follow the posters that boost you, it could turn your social media into a nice part of your routine as you mainly engage with others face-to-face or privately. In terms of commenting, if your curated Instagram is just following cute dogs and all you have to offer for a comment is “cute dog,” you might just enjoy the picture and then move on with your day rather than join in the noise. These non-commenters aren’t in the show and they’re fine with it.
5. Less motivated by social validation
The last trait that Brown showcases is that social media users who browse without posting tend to be independent from external validation, at least online. Social media is built to grow through feedback loops such as awarding likes, shares, and reposts of your content along with notifications letting you know that a new person follows you or wants to connect. This can lead many people to connect their activity on social media with their sense of self worth, especially with adolescents who are still figuring out their place in the world and have still-developing brains.
Engaging in social media via likes, shares, comments, and posts rewards our brains by having them release dopamine, which makes us feel good and can easily become addictive. For whatever reason, non-commenters don’t rely on social media as a means to gauge their social capital or self worth. This doesn’t make them better than those who do. While some non-commenters could have healthier ways to boost their self worth or release dopamine into their systems, many get that validation from equally unhealthy sources offline. That said, many non-commenters’ silence could be a display of independence and self confidence.
Whether you frequently comment online or don’t, it’s good to understand why you do or don’t. Analyzing your habits can help you determine whether your online engagement is healthy, or needs to be tweaked. With that information, you can then create a healthy social media experience that works for you.