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Second, happiness comes from within.

We have to get over asking what does technology “does to us” and start asking what we, as humans, are trying to do—individually and as members of a global community—and how technology can help.

When I say happiness comes from ‘within,’ I’m talking about the brain. Humans are subject to “impact bias” which means that we always think things and events are going to make us happy, but that isn’t the case. Most of what we feel comes to us from sensory input from unconscious portions of the brain—our instinctual lizard brain or our emotional mammalian brain.

Try this:  Imagine a lemon, a big, juicy one. Imagine that I’m going to squeeze the lemon. The juice is coming out and a drop of it falls on your tongue.

Did you salivate? Did you smell lemon? Did your nose crinkle? All of these are lizard brain reactions to images in your mind—to a virtual world that taps your personal database of experience and metaphors. Just like with interactive technology.

The Psychology of Happiness

Martin Seligman, the father of positive psychology created a formula for happiness (H).

H equals S “set point” plus C “circumstances” plus V “voluntary activity.” (Leave it to an academic to make even happiness sound sort of grim.)

‘Set Point” is your biology. Blame the animal consortium in your brain or your mother and father. Each of us has a biological range of happiness, just like extroversion and introversion, which determines our basic degree of optimism. Some people are just naturally happier than others. It’s adjustable, but it takes work. (Also, before you get down on yourself for not being continually happy, remember that, biologically, we are wired to notice danger and react much more powerfully to fear. In the wild, there wasn’t much upside in noticing the flowers compared to the downside of missing the tiger.)

Read in Full:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/positively-media/201103/does-the-internet-make-you-happy-thoughts-sxsw