How does “mama-posting,” as it’s come to be known, make you feel? It uses AI tech, which is rapidly evolving and already has many controversial feelings towards it. One of the most interesting things about AI tech is seeing all the unexpected ways people use it. In an age where people increasingly rely on AI for companionship, this type of connection is uniquely interesting to look at since it’s only been previously explored through science fiction stories. But it’s now not only at our fingertips, it’s also the very first thing we read when searching on Google. Nowadays, Google AI overview is difficult to avoid.
Photo via themamapost
Photo via longearedhare
Photo via fatalisticme
The internet has always loved baby animals. Even in the ‘90s, before the internet fully flourished into what it is today, people were emailing cute cat photos back and forth. Animal photos and videos just give us the warm and fuzzies. Wide-eyed baby animals adoring their mamas, what could be cuter?
But this meme trend goes deeper than those phases of the internet. We’re at the dawn of where humans loving machines is totally mainstream. People are looking towards machines to provide them with everything. It’s no wonder people are finding relatability in memes about loving your mama, even with the irony of asking the question to a machine. At the same time, more and more people are becoming estranged from their actual parents. One 2024 study found that 6% of young people are estranged from their moms, and 26% of young adults are estranged from their dads, no doubt aided by online support systems that just didn’t exist in decades prior.
Photo via @aurora_f
Some people, however, are using these memes to connect with their parents. One person shared to Reddit that their father sent them this mama post about hippos because he “thought it was cute.”
Photos via u/[deleted]
Commenters echoed the parental-appreciation sentiment. One wrote, “Mama posting is healing my soul at work rn.” Another added, “There are good mamas in this world 💖 This gives me hope 💖.” And when one commenter on a fox photo pointed out that the picture set appeared to be a “papa,” another replied that “a man can be a mama if he wants.” That’s because these posts are more about the mindset of being a large, loving, animal parent to a tiny, happy, animal baby, regardless of whether the parent is male or female. Still other commenters expressed wistfulness, projecting their own emotions onto these pictures, saying things like,“Mamaposting makes me wish for a loving, protective mother : /.”
Since AI bots seem to encourage this animal mama/baby roleplay, it’ll be interesting to see how this expands past this meme. Will it evolve to include siblings or other family members? Will we see “grandma posting” or “sister posting” in the near future? Will Mother’s Day cards be influenced by mama-posting? Humans might take over this trend by adding their own captions like, “Let’s read with mama” or “Let’s cuddle with mama.” After all, humans are animals too, so it’s only natural for comparisons to appear.
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Photo via @MayhemCarriere
Why are humans using artificial intelligence to ask these silly questions though? Some commenters dislike the combination of natural curiosity and auto-generated AI overview replies. @MayhemCarriere replied to someone typing, “I’m a baby kitty where is mama” with a snippy retort saying, “Hey so using AI isn’t cute.” A lot of people share their disdain for artificial intelligence usage. AI overviews take badly-needed web traffic from sites run by people, and not to mention the environmental impacts. As Google AI itself was happy to explain, one ChatGPT question uses up 10x more electricity than a Google search. These searches are also notorious for giving out the wrong information! The overview takes in information from across the web, and can’t always discern the difference between sarcasm, satire, factual information, and opinion, leading to instant, but untrustworthy, answers. Not to mention that there’s a kind of heartbreak in the fact that people are using up clean water to run AI bots to ask them wildlife questions, not realizing that they’re actually contributing in a small way to making the world a worse place for all the critters living in it.
Does asking Google’s AI overview about your hypothetical animal mama create a good learning experience? In order to test it out, I asked it about baby giraffes. I learned that giraffe babies can “walk shortly after birth” and to “listen for the sound of her calling to you” as a way to find my giraffe mom. This is not nearly as stimulating as reading about this on a sign at the zoo and seeing a real life giraffe in front of you, but if the information is accurate, it has its uses. The webpage expounded upon the search request by suggesting a video of a baby giraffe learning to walk. Then, still in character, I was directed to “stay close to the herd,” and was provided a bullet point list of the exact same facts as the first paragraph I had just read (AI gets repetitive when it runs out of things to say).
Photo via Google AI overview
Photo via @kalesalad
The next generation of “mama” memes are on the horizon. @BrittanytB posted a photo of a large chocolate croissant with a teeny tiny one stacked on top with the caption, “loafing with mama.” We’ve now established the meme template, so we’re primed for a second generation of mama memes. Who knows what objects will be anthropomorphized next, or which brand will catch onto the trend and make their own posts about it.
Photo via @arararaiv
Despite a huge push towards AI, at the end of the day, humans can’t get enough of actual loving connections. We love seeing photos of baby animals and their mommies because we love our own parents and we see ourselves in them. When we’re looking at a photo of a mother otter hugging her baby, or a giraffe parent nuzzling her little one, we get a happiness boost. And that’s not anecdotal, it’s a fact! One 2020 study found that after a half hour of looking at cute little animals, their test group of students and school staff members all experienced “lower bl*od pressure, heart rate and anxiety.” Every single participant reported that they felt less stressed out from seeing these cute pictures.
Photo via u/pileofsnakes1
What’s next for mama-posting and asking AI where mama may be found? I can’t wait for Mother’s Day 2026, when this trend has fully matured, where the lingo might be found in the Facebook photos or Instagram stories of our friends and loved ones. Come Mother’s day, we’re bound to see a surge of “Let’s brunch with mama” posts. In an increasingly digital age, we’re still finding ways to express some of the deepest held human emotions and experiences, like parenting a small creature that you love with all your heart.
