The Brief: Videos of toddlers using Animoji, a face-capture technology on the iPhone that turns the user into a cute live-action Emoji, have taken the twitter-verse by storm.

DEEP DIVE
Name a cuter duo than toddlers and Animojis, I’ll wait. Possibly the most wholesome internet trend in recent memory, last week Twitter users began posting videos of their children playing with Animojis. The iPhone feature captures the facial expressions, mouth movements, and vocal recordings of delighted toddlers, turning them into a variety of cute Emojis, including animals, aliens, and even poop. Whether in the form of an adorable shark singing the irresistible “Baby Shark” song, or a puppy exclaiming “I love you mommy,” these are hands down the sweetest videos to emerge from the dark depths of the internet.
“baby shark” 🦈 ♥️ pic.twitter.com/AitDXxgbI6
— g baby🦋 (@lovelyygall) September 28, 2019
Seriously. The cutest. pic.twitter.com/n22rR5rncQ
— Bre (@always_breanne) September 28, 2019
The joy the kids get from recognizing themselves as their favorite Emojis is infectious and reminiscent of Lacan’s mirror stage theory in Animoji form. In this theory, Lacan proposes that for babies, recognizing themselves in mirrors, or in this case, as Animojis, spurs their understanding of the self.
This is my nephew 🥺❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/fhfZqq0kmB
— gora ☁️ (@gjkiyomi) September 28, 2019
This video of my 2 year old niece is the cutest thing you’ll ever hear pic.twitter.com/uwUJmeansf
— Sophia Tripodi (@SooTrippyy) September 27, 2019
My little brother too lmao pic.twitter.com/eJpG2IfwY9
— Allen 🧢 (@um_itsallen) September 28, 2019