Research has shown that pet owners across the UK love their pets so much that one million of them have given them their own Twitter or Facebook account.
Amongst the most popular pets on the net is Sockington the cat, who belongs to American archivist and historian Jason Scott. On Twitter Sockington (@sockington) has amassed over 1.3 million followers, which is more than Prime Minister David Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Labour Party leader Ed Miliband combined.
The research conducted by GoCompare.com showed that over a million or 7% of us, who have a furry friend have created a profile for our beloved Sweep, Rover or Dory the fish.
When it comes to Twitter, dogs are the internet’s best friend. Analysing tweets from February 4th to March 6th, Gocompare.com found that more tweets in that time period were about canines than their cat counterparts. During the time frame, there were 1,713,613 tweets referencing cats compared to 2,323,567 tweets about dogs.
Ben Wilson, pet insurance spokesperson at Gocompare.com, commented:
‘The nation seems divided on what people think of pets on social media, as half (51%) of those asked said that they found people who constantly post about their pet on social media irritating, and the vast majority (74%) saying that they find people who create profiles for their pet ‘weird’. But with around four million tweets about cats and dogs each month, it doesn’t look like animal lovers will stop talking about their pets online anytime soon.
‘However, what is concerning is the number of pet owners who admitted to not having insurance for their animal. Though nearly one in five (17%) admitted to adoring their pets so much that most of their own social media post revolved around them, and just under one in ten (7%) having even made profiles for their pets, our research found that only half of cat and dog owners actually insured their animal.
‘Pet owners without insurance may not be able to afford essential medical treatment if their pet becomes ill or has an accident, so while it’s nice to see so many who want to show their four-legged companions off on social media, the best way to show your love for your animal is to make sure it has the right cover.’
