"You pity the moth confusing a lamp for the moon, yet here you are confusing a screen for the world."
I just saw that quote on someone's Instagram post. Normally, I'm a big advocate for... not being online. (Unless you're reading PJ Media, of course.)
It's not that I think being online is bad; it's just that I think we spend too much time there. I think it's pretty obvious that it's generally better for our mental and physical health to step away from our computers and smartphones and go outside, read a book, meet people in real life, take a trip, cook something, plant something, spend time with friends, etc. On the days I take off, I try not to touch my laptop at all.
That said, this weekend, I did not take my own advice, and I have zero regrets.
On Friday, I got stuck covering all the breaking news regarding Donald Trump, the Supreme Court, and tariffs, plus I had to get my New Monroe Doctrine column in early, but something else I kept seeing online caught my attention: a baby monkey dragging a stuffed animal around and being mistreated by the other monkeys in a zoo. I didn't really have time to look into the story behind it, but I'm not going to lie, that little guy haunted me until I finally looked him up.
You may have heard of him, but if you haven't, let me introduce you to Punch the Baby Monkey. He's a Japanese macaque (or snow monkey), who was born in the Ichikawa City Zoo in Japan last year. Sadly, his mother rejected him, so zookeepers stepped in and hand-raised him. To provide him with a sense of maternal warmth and comfort, they gave him a stuffed orangutan doll, and he now carries it around everywhere he goes.
Ichikawa City Zoo has released pictures of the viral lonely monkey Punch as a baby with his orangutan plushie pic.twitter.com/oicrGKkE0G
— Dexerto (@Dexerto) February 23, 2026
Saving Punch the Monkey is humanity's chance to correct the timeline we set in motion with Harambe's assassination. We cannot fail.
— Sam Rogers (@RealSamRogers) February 20, 2026
pic.twitter.com/4ckpvAjptK
sorry I can’t go out tonight I’m too busy watching Punch the Monkey trying to get his stuffed animal to hug him pic.twitter.com/HHNRJlIijL
— Betches (@betchesluvthis) February 20, 2026
When the zookeepers began attempting to integrate him with the rest of the macaque troop at the zoo, things didn't exactly go so well. The adult monkeys were mean, bullying him and dragging him across the ground. Every time he got free, he'd run back to his stuffed "mother" for comfort. I think half the people in the world wanted to rush to Japan and save the little guy.
WATCH - Heart wrenching scene: Little Punch was bullied again by a bigger monkey, who dragged her harshly across the ground. She cried and ran back to clutch her adoptive mother doll for comfort pic.twitter.com/ZWI56eCgnk
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) February 19, 2026
But don't worry, there's good news. Punch is finally making some friends. Some of the other monkeys are stepping up to be adoptive moms of sorts, grooming him, comforting him, and protecting him from the bullies.
NEW: After days of rejection, Baby Punch finally felt the warmth of love.
— positive side of X 🌞 (@positivityofx) February 20, 2026
Today, an adult monkey Onsing wrapped little Punch in the tightest, most comforting hug.
pic.twitter.com/cuXE84hm9w
Punch the little bullied monkey has a bodyguard now 🫶🏻🥹 pic.twitter.com/ijpZAe0f6H
— TaraBull (@TaraBull) February 22, 2026
Anyway, I spent quite a bit of time this weekend learning about Punch, reading up on the zoo, and learning about macaques in general.
On Saturday night, after dealing with some sort of virus for most of the week, I decided to take a relaxing hot bath, and I had my phone and a book with me. I replied to a couple of Instagram messages some friends had sent me, and as it does, just as I was about to sign off and pick up my book, a random video popped up at the top of my feed. I watched it, and just like with little Punch, my heart melted into a thousand pieces.
It was a video of an older man at a farmers market who sold granola. Apparently, he didn't have any customers at his booth, so the guy whose Instagram account this is paid him a visit and bought a few bags, which absolutely made the old man's day...and got him over 1.6 million views. Here's the video:
So, after watching that, I had to click on this account to see what this all about. From what I could tell, the guy, David Dominguez — his account name is goingoutwithchungy —lives in Texas and has a big social media following. It appears that he started out just filming himself going to restaurants solo and eating, but he eventually started going to farmers markets and approaching vendors who didn't have customers and learning more about their products and buying something from them. He filmed the interactions from his point of view and then came home and posted them online, along with information so that others could check out their products. He also visits some small mom and pop restaurants.
Over an hour and a half later, I think I'd watched almost every video. My bath water was cold. I'd kind of forgotten where I was. But it was the first time I'd ever caught myself scrolling for longer than I intended and I had no regrets about it.
These interactions were so pure and wholesome — just people and their small businesses, hoping for success. Some of them are older, some are quite young. Some are immigrants. Some are families or couples who work together. But they all seem to have two things in common: They're passionate about what they do and are working hard to become successful.
The exposure is actually changing lives. The people write in and say their orders are now through the roof or they've gained tens of thousands of followers on their own social media. Even some local media covered just how these chance encounters helped some of these businesses grow.
One video with one lady who ran a jerky stand went viral, and now she says she has thousands of orders every week. Another video featuring a restaurant that was about to go out of business brought it back to life. The owner said they have so many customers now that she runs out of food. The woman, who was in her fifties, and was, I believe, a Ukrainian immigrant, said she'd quit her job in the oil industry and poured all of her money into the restaurant, but she wasn't good at advertising. Here she is, thanking David:
Anyway, I have no regrets about spending so much time on either topic. Watching Punch and learning more about the monkeys was more interesting, entertaining, and educational than anything I could have watched on TV.
As for the farmers market and restaurant videos, they made me feel good — inspired — to hear these stories of these everyday people who are out there doing something for themselves. It was a nice contrast to celebrities and politicians who don't seem to live in the real world. And this guy who is filming them, David, has a big heart, and it's great to know there are still people out there in the world like that. I highly recommend following him.
Admittedly, both were good for this nervous system that spends most of its week covering cartels and communists and oppression.
So, I guess spending time on the internet or social media isn't all bad. It can have its benefits. You just have to know how to get past all the infuriating stuff and find the good, which feels pretty symbolic of the world in which we live right now.
