Just recently, a short video came out about why people who spend a lot of time on the Internet [1] have made the world a better place. It explained that, thanks to social media and crowdfunding sites, social good has triumphed over personal profit. For proof, look no further than these heartwarming viral Internet stories that had us smiling, crying, and everything in between throughout 2014.
Sources: Facebook [2] and Instagram [3]
Abandoned Burger King Baby
Twenty-eight years after she was abandoned at a Burger King, Katheryn Deprill created a Facebook page [4] in the hope of meeting her birth mother. After word spread on the social site and news outlets picked up her story, Katheryn's wish came true when she and her mom reunited amid tears and hugs.
Special Photoshop Help
This one was heartbreaking and wonderful at the same time. A father reached out asking Redditors to Photoshop photos of his baby girl who had passed away [5], and the results were overwhelming.
Source: Reddit user funkybrewster via Imgur [6]
Love For Leo the Dog
Meet Leo the dog. He was found on a beach in Thailand, unable to use his back two legs. After a kind stranger found him and raised money to bring him home [7], he started a happy new life.
Real-Life Parent Trap
If you haven't heard the story of the twins who met on Facebook [8], it will put a big smile on your face. The incredible tale was so powerful, they even made a short film about it.
Picture That Spoke a Thousand Words
Better have some tissues handy for this photo that went viral on Reddit. It captured two kids playing video games [9]: Caleb, who's so sick and has to stay inside a room with double doors, and Ike, who didn't let that stop him from playing Call of Duty with his pal.
#RandomActsofKindness
Throughout the year, the hashtag #RandomActsofKindness lit up social media, and the photos [10] all deserved a "like." Here, a hospital patient's family came in and gave more than 80 patients each a rose.
Moms and Daughter Project
One Oregon-based art director started a project called "If I Had Known My Mother Back Then," which quickly went viral. In it, she Photoshopped herself into old pictures of her mom [11], and the results were beautiful.
Iron Baby
Eric Hart's son has spent his entire life in a hospital, so he wanted to do something special for his baby boy's first Halloween [12]. He crafted him a teeny-tiny Iron Man costume — the video of it is heart-melting [13].
The Deep-Freeze Rescue
Here's another story about people who used Facebook to do something kind. This time, a woman used the social site [14] to save the homeless woman in her neighborhood from excruciatingly low temperatures.
Source: Instagram user nonnativeeyes [15]
Siri as a BFF
Many people bash on Siri because of her faults, but this story was all about her benefits [16] to a teenager with autism. One mother described in detail how the virtual assistant tremendously helps her 13-year-old son.
Facebook Proposal
This love story started with a poke. Steve Kawalit met his girlfriend Nafis Joon after finding her on Facebook and "poking" her to strike up a conversation. Fast-forward seven years, and the two got engaged at Facebook headquarters [17], of course.
Danny the Birthday Boy
Back in July, the Internet made sure that Danny — a 6-year-old boy with cancer — got his wish for some birthday cards. Pretty soon, he received so many cards [18], he didn't even know what to do with them
Source: Facebook user Daniel Jamieson [19]