This is Jacob.

是的，這是雅各布。

He spends a lot of time on the Internet.

他花了很多時間上網。

He reads the latest news or plays online games with friends.

他看最新的新聞，或者和朋友玩線上遊戲。

But while surfing the Web, there is one thing he cannot escape, especially on social media: cats.

但在上網的同時，有一樣東西是他無法逃避的，尤其是在社交媒體上：貓咪。

Pictures, GIFs, memes, videos—cats seem to be everywhere.

圖片、動圖、迷因、影片，貓似乎無處不在。

Jacob is amazed by the amount of content related to these felines.

雅各布對與這些貓科動物有關的內容數量感到驚訝。

He even read that cat videos have more views per video than any other category of YouTube content.

他甚至讀到，貓咪影片的平均瀏覽量比YouTube其他類別的內容都要多。

But why is that?

但為什麼會這樣呢？

He asks psychology student and proud cat owner Julia why the furry little creatures are so popular.

他問心理學學生、驕傲的貓咪主人茱莉亞，為什麼這些毛茸茸的小動物如此受歡迎？

Julia explains that virality often depends on emotionally compelling content.

朱莉婭解釋說，網路爆紅的事物往往取決於情感上引人入勝的內容。

Cat content provokes a strong emotional response through high physiological arousal.

貓咪的內容通過高度的生理喚醒引發強烈的情緒反應。

People tend to share positive content more than negative or sad content, which provokes low arousal emotions.

人們傾向於分享積極的內容，而不是消極或悲傷的內容，這引發了低喚醒的情緒。

Furthermore, cats are the perfect canvas for human projection.

此外，貓咪是人類投射的最佳畫布。

We do not fully understand their odd behavior and find them fascinating, and sometimes we see a bit of our own behavior in them.

我們並不完全理解牠們的奇怪行為，覺得他們很有魅力，有時我們還能從牠們身上看到一點自己的行為。

A rather obvious reason is that cats are simply cute and entertaining,

一個比較明顯的原因是，貓咪就是可愛又有趣。

With their highly emotive and expressive faces, they're the perfect distraction from our busy lives.

貓咪的表情極具情感和表現力，牠們是我們忙碌生活中最完美的消遣。

You don't need any explanation or knowledge to understand the humor animals provide.

你不需要任何解釋或知識就能理解動物給我們的幽默。

Funny cat videos also help people feel less anxiety, sadness, and annoyance.

有趣的貓咪影片還能幫助人們減少焦慮、悲傷和煩躁的感覺。

Who could stay upset watching a little kitten chasing its own tail?

看著一隻小貓追著自己的尾巴，誰還能生氣呢？

Jacob understands Julia's points, but there are plenty of other cute animals.

雅各布明白朱莉婭的觀點，但還有很多其他可愛的動物。

Also, he often finds that dogs are much nicer than cats.

另外，他還經常發現，狗比貓好很多。

What makes cats so special?

是什麼讓貓咪如此特別？

Julia has an explanation for this.

茱莉亞對此有一個解釋。

The Internet lives for weird things as people seek out the strange.

網路為怪事而活，因為人總是想找奇怪的東西。

Cats are unpredictable and often get themselves into hilariously unexpected situations.

這些貓咪難以捉摸，常常會讓自己陷入令人啼笑皆非的境地。

The element of surprise and cat content makes it so compelling.

驚喜的元素和貓的內容讓它如此引人注目。

So why aren't dogs ruling the Web?

那為什麼不是狗來統治網路呢？

It's easy.

這很容易。

They seem too eager to please us.

他們似乎太急於取悅我們了。

Dogs have been domesticated for some time and so can interact comfortably with humans.

狗狗已經被馴化了一段時間，所以可以和人類舒適地互動。

Cats, on the other hand, are much harder to read and have never evolved to work with us.

而貓則難懂得多，從來沒有進化到與我們合作。

Their unpredictable and seemingly arrogant behavior makes them so interesting.

他們深不可測，顯得很傲慢的行為讓他們如此有趣。

Jacob finally understands the fuss about cats on the World Wide Web.

雅各布終於明白了網際網路上對貓的大驚小怪。

Not everyone who likes or shares cat content is a crazy cat person.

並不是每個喜歡或分享貓咪內容的人都是瘋狂的貓咪人。

Cats are just hard to resist.

貓咪就是難以抗拒。

Already owning the Internet and with one more cat skeptic convinced, cats are one step closer to world domination.

已經掌控了網路，又多了一個被說服的貓咪懷疑論者，相信貓咪離統治世界又更近了一步。