Last Thursday, mother of two Candace Payne livestreamed a video on Facebook of her trying out a toy she purchased from a local department store. To her surprise, that video has garnered over 140 million views.. and counting.
The Star Wars fan had just bought a talking Chewbacca mask for herself as a birthday present after making a few returns for clothes that were too big for her.
After putting it on, Payne could not hold it together and laughs hysterically. She was weeping from laughing so hard by the end of it, citing that she’s never seen such a happy Chewbacca.
Clearly, she didn’t expect the video to go viral. But, why is this video the one we never knew we needed? Let’s weigh in.
There’s no exact science to what makes something go viral. But, human emotion is contagious, and the content makes people feel good. There’s no doubt that the positive, human and genuine emotion from Payne made us laugh, or at least smile, too.
But above anything, the 37-year-old stay-at-home mom’s video is a reminder to all of us that life is filled with simple joys. Even with all the negativity and commotion going on in the world, you can still find little pleasures that are uncomplicated.
It turns out that she’s also a perfect messenger. She’s a down-to-earth mom who doesn’t take herself too seriously, jokes about her weight in a non-self-pitying way, and although we don’t know her, we’re so eager just to be around her.
Her silliness and lightheartedness is unexpectedly captivating, and it certainly resonates with people who messaged Payne saying that they were battling depression or mourning someone’s passing and how her video has helped them smile again.
You go, Candace! We hope to meet you someday..
