Infectious Diseases

Two kinds of viruses are being spread through the Internet. The first is any variety of software that maliciously underwrites the working of a computer in order to disrupt normal functioning.

The second kind is slightly less vindictive, but no less inevitable. Viral Videos are accurately named because they spread uncontrollably from user to user until they saturate the market and our culture.

We've all seen them. We've all laughed, even if we don't know why. Here are a few well-known examples:

• The Evolution of Dance
• Miss South Carolina
• Star Wars According to a 3 Year Old
  
• The Dramatic Chipmunk
• "Boom Goes the Dynamite"
• Rick Roll'd
• Zombie Kid Likes Turtles
  
• Sneezing Baby Panda
  

Experts estimate that 90% of material on YouTube was created by amateurs. Most likely, their advertising was conducted by amateurs as well. Popularity of these videos was spread by word of mouth, which in this day and age, means e-mail and its variations.

However we hear about them, they inevitably peak our curiosity. Video sharing sites such as YouTube have made these homemade videos so easy to access. There really is no reason for this phenomenon, except that people see no excuse as to why they shouldn't enjoy a little mindless fun.

Most of the footage is caught spontaneously: a ridiculous skateboarding injury, an improbable basketball half-court shot, or an unfortunate speech error made on national television. Perhaps these make us smile because we see them as genuine pieces of American culture. Maybe we enjoy people making fools of themselves more.

As a whole, these videos have added terminology to the American lexicon, added a smile to our collaborative face, while also subtracting from our free time as we spend increasingly more time pursuing through the endless library of web videos.