Why following ‘The Dodo’ is the best way to celebrate World Animal Day

Let’s face it – the majority of the time, social media is horrendous. You have to deal with fake news; Donald Trump’s tweets; manic outrage over very menial things; #sp by #influencers; weird niche memes that I’m convinced nobody actually gets; racism; sexism; the news; and generally just people being real d**ks to each other.

We write a lot about the importance of switching off the grid and stepping away from the #spon posts. Social media messes with your brain, and the majority of the time, it is not good for your mental health. Except for those very seldom moments, those special accounts and posts that provide a ray of light that pierces into the hot mess of online content. And no ray of light is so bright as The Dodo.

The Dodo, dear readers, is a website “for animal people”. Its one purpose is to post videos and stories about the wonderfulness of animals. Animals doing cute things, animals doing heroic things, animal welfare, animals overcoming the odds and just animals being their best selves. To be honest, animals don’t really need to do anything in order to make us feel good, and that’s what The Dodo has honed in on. People need a distraction from all the awful stuff in the world – and a good puppy video will clear that right up.

For example, last week I was having a fairly average day, definitely nothing had peaked my mood. Until that is, I scrolled through my Twitter feed and came across the video below. When I tell you I was welling up for well over an hour (and continued to do so throughout the day whenever Abigail and her bows popped into my head), it is no word of a lie.

Watch this video and tell me your life is not exponentially better afterwards:

This dog lost an ear when someone used her as "bait." But when people around the world heard her story, they started sending her the most adorable little hats ??? pic.twitter.com/Q5H2HT96YM

— The Dodo (@dodo) July 20, 2018

You can’t, can you? You’re welcome.

This is just one of the thousands of feel-good posts that The Dodo shares on a daily basis, ensuring a feel-good boost every few minutes from their feeds. Following them, and getting to enjoy a couple of minutes of animal loveliness every day, is the best social media decision I’ve ever made. And I’m not the only one who’s feeling the love for The Dodo:

https://twitter.com/chicoalmaraz/status/1020402738935582721

https://twitter.com/JessicaBKennedy/status/1019927642722758658

the downfall of my life was following @dodo I literally cry at every video they post

— Kinga ? (@kingaosta) July 18, 2018

Delighted to be followed back by one of my most favourite Twitter handles @dodo, thank you ?

Dodo's stories are of beautiful animals and beautiful humans who together form bonds that reflect the best of humanity ?

— Mehr Tarar (@MehrTarar) July 16, 2018

In conclusion, The Dodo is one of the only pure and beautiful things on the internet, and we must protect it at all costs. Follow them and thank me later.