Contagious happiness

Scotsman:

IT'S official: happiness really is contagious. The sought-after commodity "ripples" through social networks, creating clusters of contentment and transferring the "feel good" factor for up to a year, according to a study released today.

The findings are seen as the first tentative evidence of the concept of karma, suggesting that the "waves of happiness we radiate could eventually wash up on our own shores".

Unsurprisingly, happy smiley people tend to be at the centre of social networks and have lots of friends who are also happy.

But those with a Victor Meldrew disposition need not despair, because even a complete stranger can boost your happiness quotient.

A happy friend of a friend of a friend increases the chance of personal happiness by about 6 per cent. Grumpy friends, on the other hand, decrease it by about 7 per cent. Co-workers have no effect.

However, the optimum happiness generator is having a friend living within half a mile, which boosts your wellbeing by an impressive 42 per cent. A happy next-door neighbour ups the odds of personal happiness by 34 per cent, while a sibling living within a mile increases your total by 14 per cent.

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What we learn from this story is that it pays to live around Republicans since they are the happiest people. It also pays to read upbeat blogs like this.