The 8 most wholesome internet moments of 2025

It’s hard to believe but there are good things did will occur online 2025.

Browsing the internet over the past 12 months hasn’t always been a pleasant experience: our news has been full of AI slop, recession fears and misinformation. But good things also managed to happen.

Mashable has been keeping an eye out for uplifting digital stories with our Good Connection series. And if you need a calendar cleanse to get through 2025, we’ve got eight online stories from this year that will do just the trick.

1. The “Ask an Axolotl” earworm

January seems like a long time ago now, but it was the month we all hummed a little song about an axolotl. TikTokker @doctor_waffle posted a video about the adorable amphibian. It’s cute and so eye-catching.

Sure, the song was clearly aimed at children, but it seemed to soothe anyone with a pulse.

2. Everyone gathered for Coffeeshop Buddies

When Rachel Rose, owner of Buddies Coffee Roasters in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, sobbed on camera, she couldn’t have predicted the response. She was going to lose the place she had worked so hard for, and her emotion was real and raw.

People rallied in response, absolutely flooding Buddies with business. Even celebrities like Joe Jonas were in attendance. Lines wrapped around the block.

Friends did close – the situation with their lease wasn’t fixable – but it looks like Rachel and the roasting business are both thriving.

3. The cutest love story on Craigslist

Oscar season gave us the story of how Colman Domingo met her husband. Somehow, the Missed Connection section of Craigslist sparked a whirlwind romance that lasted decades. It truly is the sweetest thing.

4. A Yankee who loves burritos

New York Yankees catcher Austin Wells went viral this year for his passion project: revisiting breakfast burritos. During his travels throughout the season, he would try breakfast burritos and rate them. That’s it. Just a guy who loves burritos.

Wells seems to be a fair critic, however. His highest-rated burrito of the year came from the clubhouse of the Mets, the Yankees’ crosstown rival.

5. The adopted dog who stole our hearts

I’m a big fan of Isabel Klee, or @SimonSits on TikTok, who regularly takes in foster dogs. The entire internet fell in love with one of Klee’s fosters, Tiki, who was rescued from some pretty difficult circumstances. The little puppy healed with Klee, going from a clearly scared and scarred dog to a precocious and adorable dog who was adopted.

It was such a beautiful story.

6. The little niece who made the song of the summer

It’s a pretty simple story: creator @day1keenan has a niece who wanted to sing. And she sang, creating an absolute banger that many have called the song of the summer.

This TikTok has racked up over 60 million views.

This little girl is really talented and I could listen to this song all day.

7. The New York subway jackpot

I don’t know if you’ve ever seen a cat take the subway but it’s really adorable. Look at this little cosmopolitan baby, jump on it.

As if the story couldn’t get any sweeter, the suburbanite who picks up the kitten in the video ended up adopting it. Her name is Emmie, in honor of the New York MTA.

8. Pop-up pantries to the rescue

SNAP benefits were thrown into chaos amid the government shutdown this year, and neighbors came to the rescue to help each other. There were countless videos of pop-up pantries, popping up overnight to help neighbors.

AJ Owen (@ajpgh412) had perhaps the most viral moment in his pantry, when an anonymous donor dropped off a pile of cash to fund the pop-up Owen started with his kids.

“The outpouring online is… overwhelming in the best way possible,” Owen wrote in an email to Mashable at the time. “Seeing so many other people affected by what we do and deciding to do something of their own brings tears to my eyes. Give people the opportunity to help and they absolutely will!”

So yeah, 2025 hasn’t always been great. But there were also some really lovely moments.