Why do we spend so much time on the internet? It’s not because plucking away at Tumblr, Twitter, or Reddit makes us particularly smarter than we would’ve been if we had stared at a blank wall for an equivalent amount of time. I don’t buy the idea that we are just so addicted to technology that we would have actual withdrawals without it. My theory is much more straightforward: being online makes us feel good! There’s something super stimulating about the things we see online every day, and that’s why we always return to the sources that give us a neverending supply of them. Life can be so dull and negative sometimes, but when a little box in your pocket lights up your sad face, it brings a little hit of dopamine we all need. If you’re in a bad mood, you might need a hit of some joy-inducing memes.