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The ‘animal-centred internet’ could be around the corner, but Gen Z are sceptical

Scientist’s suggestion that the internet could be used for lonely pets to interact with humans and each other is causing young digital natives to raise their brows.

On 2 May, the University of Glasgow released findings that parrots may prefer live chats with other birds over recorded messages as part of their research on a future internet for animals. This finding suggests parrots can tell the difference between the two video forms and could benefit from live chats with other parrots, a claim that has divided Gen Z – arguably the first lab rats of digital socialization.

The University of Glasgow have been exploring the potential of live video chats to “expand the birds’ social lives”. Animal-computer specialists found that parrots initiated more live calls than they watched pre-recorded footage and spent much longer on calls than watching videos.

The university have said that this new study could help “steer the future course of the emerging internet”, which would allow animals to directly interact with humans and other animals. This follows the university’s previous research on the potential of video-calls to reduce loneliness in parrots, and how parrots could benefit from playing games on digital tablets.

“In the wild, they live in flocks and socialise with each other constantly,” comments the paper’s lead author, Dr Hirskyj-Douglas, from the University of Glasgow’s School of Computing Science. “As pets, they’re often kept on their own, which can cause them to develop negative behaviours like excessive pacing or feather-plucking. Their behaviour while interacting with another live bird often reflected behaviours they would engage in with other parrots in real life, which wasn’t the case in the pre-recorded sessions.”

For some members of Gen Z – the ‘internet generation’ – the idea of submitting animals to the digital world seems like a waste of funding. “The idea of an animal internet is stupid. I don't think humans should even be using internet, let alone a fucking parrot,” comments 21-year-old Emma. “It's just a way to make ourselves feel better about domesticating wild animals. They're depressed because they're not supposed to be in tiny little cages, and I don't think the internet is going to fix that.”

Not every member of Gen Z is as pessimistic about this research. 21-year-old Yasmin believes this breakthrough shows that we’re starting to value our pet’s quality of life. “It shows not only a shift in internet culture, but a shift in the way humans think of animals.” says 21-year-old Yasmin. “People forget that animals, especially birds, need time to interact with other animals. The fact that we’re putting so much funding into the social lives of birds feels like a big shift. It’s also just so cute.”

As digital natives, Gen Z are divided between being disillusioned to our post-pandemic digital dependency, and embracing the internet’s engulfment of our (and possibly soon, our pet’s) daily lives. Four years since the beginning of the pandemic, some members of the ‘internet generation’ have formed nuanced stances on the capabilities of the internet – both positive and negative. “This research project shows how we’re using the internet to cut corners and put a plaster over bigger issues,” comments Lenny, an 18-year-old student. “It’s a small example of this bigger narrative that the internet can solve loneliness. Sure, it can stop us pulling out our feathers, but both humans and birds deserve actual, non-artificial connection.”

This research by the Univeristy of Glasgow could be used as the foundations for a future ‘animal-centred internet’. The research team’s results, while too small to offer definitive results, are promising enough to prompt future research.