- 01
Monkey see monkey do
Congratulations humans, you ruined gorillas! You couldn't keep your phones in your pockets while you went to the zoo and now the gorillas are addicted to social media! Visitors from all over the world are sharing their screens with the big apes and it seems to have the same affect on them as it does on us - it turns them into addicted, mindless zombies. Classy humans, real classy!
- 02
Are Gorillas Becoming Screen Addicts?
It seems like modern problems breed more modern problems. According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, gorillas in several zoos are getting hooked on human technology. Zoos across North America are seeing gorillas glued to screens that visitors press up to their enclosures, watching videos and photos. As if spending all your time at the zoo staring at your phone wasn't bad enough, now we're dragging poor gorillas into our social media addiction too.
-
- 03
Swiping and Scrolling Like Us
These apes, who share 96% of our DNA, are drawn to our screens just like we are—except for them, it's disrupting their natural behavior. One gorilla named Amare even missed important social cues from his fellow gorillas because he was too busy watching visitors' phones.
- 04
Is This actually Enrichment?
Some visitors think they're doing the gorillas a favor by showing them videos for "enrichment." But zookeepers and conservationists disagree. These encounters aren't enriching at all; in fact, they're disrupting gorillas' social bonds and behaviors. If anything, the screen time is turning these intelligent animals into distracted versions of their wild selves.
- 05
Keep your phone in your pocket
The Toronto Zoo has even put up signs asking visitors to stop showing their phones to the gorillas. It turns out that just like humans, these guys can't handle the endless stream of content without consequences. And honestly, we can't blame them.
- 06
We’re Not That Different After All
Seriously, the whole situation is kind of tragic. We worry about our own phone addictions, yet now we're unintentionally passing that bad habit onto gorillas. Maybe it's time for both humans and gorillas to take a break from screens and reconnect with the real world—especially for these creatures who thrive on social interactions within their troops.
