Monday, December 08, 2008

628 - Happiness

From the headlines ********************

Happiness May Spread in Social Networks

Happiness may be contagious, suggests a new study published online today in British Medical Journal. Researchers found that a person's happiness can spread within three degrees of separation. "Our own personal happiness spreads beyond people we're directly connected to," study co-author James Fowler, an associate professor of political science at the University of CaliforniaSan Diego, told HealthDay. The study looked at 4,739 children of original participants in the Framingham Heart Study and followed their friendships with others from 1983 to 2003. They found that a person's happiness is mostly likely to impact how happy the people closest to him are, including spouses, relatives, friends, and neighbors. But the happiness effect may also spread outward to people the original person has never met. The study is one in a series looking at how contagious loneliness, smoking, and other behaviors are.

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So here's the deal my social network. It's up to you to make me happy. And I don't think you're doing a good enough job!! So get your happy ass up and figure something out to make me more happy. This lack of happiness is making me ..... unhappy! I don't know how much longer I'm going to put up with this 'lack uh happy' before I have to do something about it myself.

And what are they talking about with happiness being contagious? Is that a good thing or not? I guess it depends on how you get happy.

8 comments:

The Mistress of the Dark said...

Join me in singing a song from Ren and Stimpy.

Happy Happy Joy Joy, Happy Happy Joy Joy :)

Did that work?

John A Hill said...

So does that mean that depression and curmudgeonliness is also contagious? Cause I'm feeling a little lower after reading your post.

(Does that make you feel better?)

fiona said...

MMMwwwwwaaaaah!
Hope that put a smile on your face!
Says she puckering up for round 2.

Mike said...

M - Now I've got that song stuck in my head. I think I'm happy now by default.

J - I don't know if I feel better or not yet. I'm still trying to figure out that really long word.

F - Got round one. Anticipating round two.

Bilbo said...

I would like to help you out, but I can't get my happy ass up because my ass is currently unhappy. Not to mention saggy. My advice: stick with Fiona.

Amanda said...

Hey! Come to Cairns. Its a happy place. Saggy or not, people seem happy here...a little too brown sometimes but definitely happy.

Mike said...

B - I'll take that advice and be happy with it.

A - I'll be waiting for my ticket at the mailbox tomorrow. Send it special delivery.

Anonymous said...

To quote you, "Sounds like a personal problem to me..." Have patience, Honey. Nothing makes you happier than me sleeping in with you, so I'm taking tomorrow and the next day off. You can daydream about that and quit hounding your social network.