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How Technology Can Help Us Find Happiness
The significance
People should be able to track their happiness in a similar way they track their fitness goals.
Apps tracking happiness effectively served as a glorified research project. The conclusion: people are happiest when they stop their minds from wandering.
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Map out your happy places
There are very few tools that can help us research, track and plan our own happiness. Online services now let users map out their happy places and discover where others have felt happy.
In theory, you can find the happiest spots in any part of the world where you could feed off the good vibes.
The significance
People should be able to track their happiness in a similar way they track their fitness goals.
Apps tracking happiness effectively served as a glorified research project. The conclusion: people are happiest when they stop their minds from wandering.
Not just a feeling
Happiness isn't just a feeling that should be left entirely to chance. There are specific factors that influence your happiness, which can be easily tracked with the right tools.
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"Very little is needed to make a happy life; it is all within yourself, in your way of thinking."
Marcus Aurelius
Where Happiness Comes From
Phenomena that happen outside of us don’t cause happiness. They might be correlated with happiness but it’s not a cause-and-effect relationship.
The most important part is what happens in our brain between the external event (a good cup of coffee) and our state of happiness.
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Not backed up by science
While popular, researchers say there is a serious lack of evidence to back up mindfulness apps, even though they are increasingly perceived as proven treatments for mental health.
Seeking scientific validation
A handful of studies have been published on the efficacy of mindfulness apps, thanks in part to Headspace, one of the most popular apps in the field. In hopes of getting its app scientifically validated, the organization has partnered on more than 60 studies with 35 academic institutions. In the meantime, in lieu of research proving that apps work, marketers tend to draw misleading, but attractive claims.
The paradox of mindfulness apps
Mindfulness disrupts unhelpful habits. If you get distracted easily or have addictions, mindfulness helps curb these habits. But, in contrast, apps become popular and profitable by getting users lightly addicted to repetitive use. So, can an app really treat addiction, or is it inherently part of the problem? As of now, we don’t know the answer to that question.
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Habit-formation apps are aspirational tools
They're less about distilling your life into a series of data points and more about becoming your ideal self: If you use their app, you too can become a person who practices good habits. You can be...
The 4 tendencies when it comes to habit formation:
- upholders: disciplined and respond to both internal and external expectations;
- obligers :can’t keep commitments to themselves but respond to expectations from others;
- questioners: ask why and can keep a habit if they understand the logic reasoning;
- rebels: hate being told what to do by others, so it has to be something they want to do.
Habit apps use the psychology of habit formation
- Many rely on a “streak” feature: they track how many consecutive days you’ve completed the habit;
- Other apps offer accountability features to pressure you into completing your goal;
- Some apps turn habit formation into a game: The app rewards users who complete their habits with badges and other virtual incentives.
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