… when a person becomes happy, next door neighbors have a 34% increased chance of becoming happy. A friend living within one mile? A 25% increased chance. Siblings? 14%. And a spouse? An 8% chance.”
– ABC, Good Morning America (citing research by Professor’s James Fowler and Nicholas Christakis, which they write about in their book, Connected: The Surprising Power of Our Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives)
We studied a full social network and found that happiness spreads through it like a contagion. And so we really do think that happiness is contagious.”
– James Fowler
Image: “what happiness looks like” by AJC1 on Flickr.