“Tiny Units” Online Group Is Dedicated To Everything That Comes In Cute Sizes (50 Pics)

The head moderator, u/hwhouston517, went into detail with Bored Panda about where the line lies between something that is a tiny unit and where it's no longer one. There's a lot of subjectivity involved, however, we really shouldn't overthink things too much. It's simply best to sit back, relax, and enjoy the overwhelming adorableness of the units.

"The beauty about this subreddit is that the concept of a 'tiny unit' is entirely subjective, meaning there are less complaints, fewer posts to moderate, and altogether more posts in general. Personally, I would define a 'tiny unit' not by total height, width or length, but by scale. My opinion is that an animal or object has to be at least 3 times as small as the average size of the animal or object in order to count," the head moderator went into detail about what they personally view as animals and things worthy of the label.

"For example, a Labrador Retriever cannot be posted here, but a Chihuahua can, since it’s probably three times smaller than the average size of a dog. The scale factor works in much larger animals, too. Fully grown elephants obviously aren’t tiny units, but baby elephants, which are still much bigger than other animals, count as tiny units as well."

The head moderator reiterated that a lot of people enjoy r/TinyUnits because of the cuteness factor. As human beings, we tend to enjoy and admire looking at tiny animals because we can comprehend them in their entirety. From our point of view, they're less threatening, meaning we tend to see them as cute. "The more cute or attractive something is, the more dopamine our brain releases and therefore it makes us more happy," the mod said.

Psychologists Gary Sherman and Jonathan Haidt propose that small and cute things trigger a protective impulse in us. However, that’s not all. Seeing cute things and animals also brings out a childlike response in us. We have an impulse to engage with adorable, tiny things because we find it fun.

We also feel a deep sense of satisfaction that we’re capable of taking care of vulnerable creatures who might be incapable of looking out for themselves. So it’s no wonder that tiny units win over our hearts and our souls, leaving no place for sadness.

According to PDSA Vet Anna, our love of baby animals such as puppies and kittens may be rooted in our desire to take care of our own children. The similarities between their feature only enhance this instinct.

“Many of us love baby animals, and a lot of this is to do with our inbuilt urge to care for human babies. Puppies and kittens have a lot of features which are similar to human children, such as big eyes, short arms and legs, a round body, and adorable clumsy behavior. This ‘cuteness’ can remind us of our urge to care for human babies and can trigger an urge to protect and care for young pets as they grow,” she told Bored Panda.