Measure and train your happiness with science-approved mobile ‘apps’ | community | magazine

After several decades of hard work by positive psychology, a branch of psychology that focuses, among other things, on the study of well-being, happiness, and human flourishing, we can affirm that today we are faced with a psychological construct with adequate measurement, solvent, and monitoring tools.

Because, contrary to what might have been thought a few years ago, human happiness can be measured scientifically. Just talking about scales, among other types of tools, or psychologically validated questionnaires, we can find several dozen. Among them, we will see scales that measure our level of happiness called pleasure, that is, our subjective well-being and our satisfaction with life in general.

But we also find scales that measure our eudaimonia, that is, the most profound human happiness which relates to universal powers and virtues, to the vital fullness and prosperity of man.

For both our fun and our good happiness, we also have a good selection of apps on our mobile phone. Either we measure ourselves or we exercise and strengthen ourselves in one or the other, or both.

If we start by reviewing those applications that can help us with our state of pleasure, our positive emotions, our life satisfaction and awareness of this satisfaction, there are quite a number of them.

Useful exercises and experiences

If I had to highlight any of them, I would choose happy. First for its interface, its straightforward friendly character, ease of use, aesthetics and design. But also because of its content, because on the layer of data, metrics and questionnaires that support it, we will find really useful and exciting activities, exercises and experiences that have shown sufficient solvency in improving certain habits and behaviors that lead to subjective well-being. More solid and durable.

The experts and scientists behind her endorse, in one way or another, the scientific nature of her suggestions. Its creators say, as a basic principle, that technology should be used to improve people’s lives, and people’s lives a program It sets a good example of this.

Also for our psychological well-being or our good happiness (remember, our twin sister of virtue), our mobile phone makes an extraordinary offer. If we hug, say, a model Twenty-four human castles And we believe that each of them has a few applications that help in their practice, and the list will become almost unlimited.

gratitude diary

But if I had to highlight one, I would choose it gratitude diary. Cicero said that gratitude is not only a human virtue, but is the mother of all others. Its effect on psychological and subjective well-being, both closely related levels of happiness, is highly proven, let’s not forget.

One of the interesting examples of this gratitude notes can be for our mobile phone Happy Feed, but there are many of them equally valid, because the mechanism is quite simple. It helps us to remember a certain number of things, facts, experiences, experiences, details, etc. That we lived every day, to record them.

The advantages are manifold: first, because while we are grateful we feel good, but also, and above all, because we begin to focus on the positive, both in the present and in the past; It helps us open up to acceptance and serenity in the face of what happens to us, all of which opens doors to other human virtues and forces.

In the end, with this simple daily habit of thanking us for something that happened to us that day, a virtuous spiral begins in the purest sense of the word.

I do not want to stop pointing out the importance of caution and precaution in all uses of a mobile phone, also in this one. We must realize that our behavior with these apps The data we leave to third parties will be. In principle, this is something that can help ourselves, others and science … provided that this data is used, most likely, in accordance with data protection and ethics legislation. But, like any human tool, or almost, the good will depend on the purpose of its use.

In any case, in conclusion, we can smart phone Be a good ally for our happiness? Yes, definitely; Provided that a weighted is used, or to quote Schneider, Halfmann y FrontConsciously restrained and meaningful. And also, of course, equipped with the appropriate applications.

Applications that strictly help us measure and know our level of happiness and personal and psychological well-being, as well as improve it. Because happiness, like virtue, is something that is also trained and practiced, at least, in part, in our own hands. Today, there is nothing more accessible to anyone than their mobile phone. (I)

Jose Antonio Munez Velasquez

Director of Communication and Education Department at Loyola University Andalusia