Audience applause has been a staple of live television since early studio broadcasts, where producers used real crowds and later applause signs to guide home viewers toward jokes and emotional beats. Telethons popularised especially long, heartfelt rounds of clapping for donations and surprise totals, and that association with generosity and triumph carried into online video. Editors now borrow the same cue for memes, reaction edits and presentation videos, using a sustained crowd clap, much like kids cheering, to signal that something deserves recognition even when no live audience was present during filming.