(May 7, 2015) Over half the people in Western societies share their daily
life with pets, which makes it the norm rather than the exception. Our shared
history with domestic animals goes back tens of thousands years. However,
technological advances in the last decades – computer, internet, social media –
revolutionized our means of communication, and particularly our social lives. A
legitimate but tacit question is whether this technological evolution will also
change human–animal relationships, and concurrently, the place of pets in human
societies. Pet ownership in its current form is likely unsustainable in a
growing, urbanized population. Digital technologies have quickly revolutionized
human communication and social relationships, and logically could tackle
human–animal relati onships as well. The question is whether these new technologies
actually represent the future of pet ownership, helping tackle its
sustainability while solving animal welfare issues.