Kid Treats Military Dad’s Virtual Bedtime Story Like The Real Thing

Well, this is possibly the most heartbreaking scene you’ll see today. This amazing father and deployed military man made some pre-recorded bedtime stories for his two-year-old daughter while he was away. And from the look of it, she can’t tell.

On the one hand, she does seem overjoyed to see her dad — and that LCD screen hug at the end is a definite tearjerker. But the notion of a computer standing in for a father is… pretty awful. Unlike a video chat or message between two people with developed brains, I doubt a two-year-old can really comprehend what’s going on. Does she think he’s really there? Does she think he’s inside the screen? She repeatedly tries to talk to him, though of course hugs him like he’s a computer, not like a human. It’s a strange mix of childhood adorableness, developmental psychology and tech. Like the baby with the iPad, this girl’s part of a generation where the screen and the virtual things on it might seem more real than what they’re reproducing. And it’s one thing when it’s an issue of Vogue — but what about when it’s a dad? [Reddit via BuzzFeed]