The world can seem like a cold and exhausting place at times. There are so many stressful things and responsibilities to worry about. It’s exhausting. So, it’s no wonder that everyone needs a break from everything. Luckily, the internet has an abundant supply of positivity—you just need to know where to look.
‘Wholesome Memes’ is a Facebook page that does exactly what it says on the tin: it shares incredibly wholesome memes that might just brighten up your day. We’ve collected some of the most heartwarming ones to give you a break from work, studying, or anything else you’ve got on your plate. Scroll down for some truly smile-worthy images and for a reminder that there are kind people out there.
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The content shared on ‘Wholesome Memes’ lives up to its name, and it generally feels like visual chicken soup for the soul: warm, nurturing, and healing. Not only is it a welcome break from a lot of the pessimism and negativity that you’ll often find on social media and in the news, but it’s also a reminder that no matter how bad things seem, there’s usually a silver lining if you look for it.
Things in real life are rarely black and white, they’re often a nuanced mix of both. On the one hand, you don’t want to consume just negative content because it’ll affect your mental and emotional health. On the other hand, you shouldn’t live in a bubble of naivety and toxic positivity either. Ideally, you’ll have a balanced digital ‘diet’ that helps you get as close to the truth about how the world really works as you can.
According to one recent study, negative and emotional words have a direct effect on online news consumption.
Research showed that even though positive words were more prevalent than negative ones in the dataset used, negative words in news headlines increased consumption rates, while positive ones decreased them.
The study from 2023, which looked at 105k headlines encompassing over 370 million impressions of news stories from ‘Upworthy,’ found that “For a headline of average length, each additional negative word increased the click-through rate by 2.3%. This is significant in determining why users engage with online media because it is “important for society in informing and shaping opinions.”
Broadly speaking, human beings are hardwired to focus more on negativity than positivity because the former is more useful for survival. When you’re more attuned to the potential dangers that surround you, you’re more likely to survive and end up passing on your genes.
To put it simply, your brain’s focus on negativity is one of the ways in which it tries to protect you.
It's posts like this that make me miss my father terribly and make me furious he didn't have a chance to make it to 90. I wonder if there's something similar to the Big Brothers/Sisters organization where adults who have lost their parents can be "adopted" by older adults as "Dad/Mom For A Day" or something!
“The negativity bias is our tendency not only to register negative stimuli more readily but also to dwell on these events. Also known as positive-negative asymmetry, this negativity bias means that we feel the sting of a rebuke more powerfully than we feel the joy of praise,” Verywell Mind explains.
People are more likely to notice negative things in almost any interaction. This negativity is also what we remember more vividly later. For example, the average human being will recall insults more than praise and traumatic experiences more than positive ones.
They also react more strongly to negative stimuli and respond more strongly to negative events.
Research suggests that negativity bias can push people to complete a task: they tend to have more motivation to do a task to avoid losing something than they do to gain something. On the flip side, this also means that the typical human being can dwell on what they can potentially lose rather than gain by pursuing a goal.
Verywell Mind notes that people perceive negative news as more likely to be true. “Since negative information draws greater attention, it also may be seen as having greater validity. This might be why bad news seems to garner more attention.”
Originally, the ‘Wholesome Memes’ page was created in late April of 2022. At the time of writing, 3 years later, it has amassed a pretty significant following. Currently, 159k Facebook users follow the page on the social network.
The page primarily focuses on sharing memes that pull on your heartstrings, from cute animal-related stories to posts about human kindness and more.
It was always a good day when my brother not only let me play N64 with him, but also use the cool see through blue controller :)
Which of these wholesome memes made you smile the widest, dear Pandas? Were there any that you couldn’t help but send to your friends, family members, or coworkers? How do you find a balance between the negative and positive news and content that you consume every day? We’d be happy to hear your thoughts about all of this. Feel free to share them in the comments.
That's not "study" pose, that's "Let's play" pose, not sure what the dog expects the poor tortoise to do but I think they may find it a bit disappointing.
Somehow this pic is made better by the fact that they're both enjoying their own treat 😹
Cute little spiders! I feel like we've seen this person's work on BP before XD
Very moving. One of our kids' pandemic teachers was brand-new to the field, only 6 months on the job when quarantine hit. Armed with her tech savvy and all the latest teaching strategies, she became the unsung hero of the teaching team for her grade level, as she helped to pivot lessons online. I often thought about how grateful the whole team must have been for her... and how grateful we were for all of them and the daily normalcy they helped to restore.
Domestic rats are awesome pets. Most are super sweet and VERY smart. Just heartbreaking that they have such short lifespans :( When I was a kid, I had a gorgeous girl (who looked very similar to Gravy above except my girl's markings were black instead of gray) whose name was Kethinja. Broke my heart that I only got to have a few years with her :(
Note: this post originally had 86 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
Nichole, hope you day remains a bit brighter than it was.
Load More Replies...Nichole, hope you day remains a bit brighter than it was.
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