Colton Hannum

Annotated Bibliography

Class Research:

The Happy Movie

Citation:
Belic, Roko, director. The Happy Movie. The Happy Movie, 9 Apr. 2011,
www.thehappymovie.com/.

Summary:
The film was about happiness and what we can do to achieve happiness and what makes
us happy. During the film there were many examples of how people are happy without
have much material wealth. The examples that they showed were people that were all
less fortunate than most but were still happy which they used to convey there point
that wealth doesn't buy happiness. My personal reaction to this film was that I
could not relate with this film because I don't have a low end job or live in a
tiny house with other people or even get joy from giving. Throughout the film I
noticed that they never really focused on how middle class people are affected by
wealth or how happy they are so I had a hard time relating. Overall this was a good
film but I could not relate so I would give it a 6/10.

Assessment: I feel that this was a very strong source because It showed lots of
examples of what they were trying to convey and using these examples shows that
they took a lot of time and effort in order to get their point across

Reflection:
This source has helped me answer the essential question by teaching me that
material wealth is not the most important thing to happiness, and even the least
fortunate people are some of the happiest in the world

Evidence:
Whether you like to rock climb, play piano, or practice yoga, find something you
enjoy to help you experience flow. Flow is when you are in the zone, or lost in
what you're doing. Ronaldo Fadul, a free spirit from Brazil, talks about how he
finds his flow through surfing. Riding the waves allows him be present and keeps
him from worrying about the small stuff.

Instead of measuring gross national product, the small country of Bhutan is trying
to maximize its growth maximum happiness. The government is creating an environment
designed for happiness by preserving Bhutan's culture and forests. While many
countries are building skyscrapers and expansive suburbs, this southern Asian
country promises to keep 60 percent of its land forest. The people of Bhutan
understand the importance of nature, and you should too.
There's More to Life Than Being Happy

Citation:
Smith, Emily Esfahani. “There's More to Life Than Being Happy.” The Atlantic,
Atlantic Media Company, 9 Jan. 2013,
www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/01/theres-more-to-life-than-being-
happy/266805/.

Summary:
This article was about how happiness is not the only thing in life is important.
During this article it compared the differences between meaning and happiness. In
the article it explains that happiness achieved by taking whereas meaning is
achieved by giving. Constantly throughout the article they would bring up the story
of a man who was in a concentration camp and how his ideas helped others and how
the only way he lived was because he felt a high meaning in his life.

Assessment:
I feel that this is a solid source because throughout the article it would talk
about a man who found meaning in his life and referred to his book. If this article
was not factual they would try to stray away from using a source

Reflection:
this source will help me answer the essential question in the ways that it showed
ways people are happy and how they became happy. It also showed examples of how
meaning helps people get through tough times and how meaning is more important than
happiness.

Evidence:
I used to think the whole purpose of life was pursuing happiness. Everyone said the
path to happiness was success, so I searched for that ideal job, that perfect
boyfriend, that beautiful apartment. But instead of ever feeling fulfilled, I felt
anxious and adrift. And I wasn't alone; my friends -- they struggled with this,
too.

So this all made me wonder: How can we each live more meaningfully? To find out, I
spent five years interviewing hundreds of people and reading through thousands of
pages of psychology, neuroscience and philosophy. Bringing it all together, I found
that there are what I call four pillars of a meaningful life. And we can each
create lives of meaning by building some or all of these pillars in our lives.

The New Era of Positive Psychology

Citation:
“The New Era of Positive Psychology .” The New Era of Positive Psychology , TED,
Feb. 2004, www.ted.com/talks/martin_seligman_on_the_state_of_psychology.
Summary:
Throughout this presentation he talked alot about how psychology is not good enough
in this modern era. Throughout his presentation he mentioned ways that people look
at

Assessment:
I think that this article was mainly based off of opinion and that it did not add
any useful info in answering the question.

Reflection:
I feel that this article did not help me answer the question.

Evidence:
This time you can have three words. Professor Seligman, what is the state of
psychology today?" "Not good enough." That's what I'm going to be talking about.

Research Question:
Does technology positively or negatively affect happiness

Individual Research:

Technology and happiness

Citation:
Surowiecki, James. “Technology and Happiness.” MIT Technology Review, MIT
Technology Review, 30 Dec. 2013, www.technologyreview.com/s/403558/technology-and-
happiness/.

Summary:
Throughout this article It shows many examples of people doing studies on weather
technology affects one's happiness. Many times during this article there would be
examples of how certain things that relate to technology increase happiness.
I this article It brought up how technologically advanced japan is but how even
before they became one of the most advanced countries it still had the same
statistics of happiness.

Assessment:
This is a very good article that brings up many studies that work to prove if
technology is a factor for affecting happiness. The article was written by MIT a
very trusted high grade collage.
Reflection:
I felt that this was a very well written article but I could not relate with it
because it was referring to a community rather than just an individual. The article
was a good starting ground to my research.

Evidence:
There is, though, one group of Americans that is imperturbably sunny: the Amish.
Their depression rates are negligibly low relative to the rest of societies. Their
happiness levels are consistently high. The Pennsylvania Amish, when asked how much
they agree with the statement: You are satisfied with your life (using a scale of 1
to 10), turn out to be as happy as the members of the Forbes 400.

Between 1960 and the late 1980s, Japan’s economy was utterly transformed, as the
nation went from a low-cost supplier of cheap manufactured goods to what is perhaps
the world's most technologically sophisticated society. Over that stretch, the
country’s GDP quintupled. And yet by the late 1980s, the Japanese said they were no
happier than they had been in 1960.

For instance, when the authors of that 1998 study revisited the question a few
years later, using a slightly different methodology, they arrived at the opposite
conclusion, finding that the Net had a slightly beneficial impact on people's
sociability, connections with others, and sense of well-being.

Does Technology Affect Happiness?

Citation:
Richtel, Matt. “Does Technology Affect Happiness?” The New York Times, The New York
Times, 25 Jan. 2012, bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/25/does-technology-affect-
happiness/.

Summary:
This article is about weather or not technology affects happiness through social
media. In the article they tested the effects of using social media and how it
affects mood. In the article it states that the kids that used social media were a
lot less happy.

Assessment:
I feel that this article was not a valid source because the pool of children that
they used were so small that It could not be concluded.

Reflection:
I felt this article was very boring because I could not relate in any way because
it focused on girls that actually care about what their friends do.

Evidence:
As young people spend more time on computers, smartphones and other devices,
researchers are asking how all that screen time and multitasking affects children’s
and teenagers’ ability to focus and learn — even drive cars.

The research was based on an online survey of about 80 questions answered by 3,461
girls whom the scientists found by advertising in Discovery Girls magazine. The
researchers found that the average amount of media use by the girls surveyed was
6.9 hours per day, a figure that included reading as well as screen time. The
average amount of time spent in face-to-face social settings was 2.1 hours, a
figure that did not include classroom time.

Lena Garzarelli, 13, an eighth grader in Asheville, N.C., who spends as much as two
hours each day on Facebook, video chatting with friends and using other multimedia,
said that the technology, on the whole, has helped enrich her social life. But she
said that she felt it could be a poor substitute for face-to-face interaction.

Effects of Technology Essay

Citation:
“Effects of Technology Essay.” Effects of Technology Essay - 660 Words | Bartleby,
www.bartleby.com/essay/Effects-of-Technology-P3CVNU4KVJ.

Summary:
In this article it talks about how everyone is addicted to technology and
preventing us from doing things that actually make us happy. During the article It
talked about how people who use technology are increasingly less happy and that it
will continue because technology is like a mind control device because people are
addicted.

Assessment:
This article was very bias against tech being good for people but is very important
for the world. It was bias in the way that it would say things like that tech is a
mind controller.

Reflection:
I did not like this article because there was very little science behind the things
that they say. I also did not agree with this article because I use tech every day
and I still notice that I become happy when I get to use my computer. This article
also trashed people who use the computer a lot.

Evidence:
Many of the video games on the market today are structured toward violence.
Video games though are another technology that is affecting the individual, mainly
teenagers and kids.
People of all ages are addicted to television. On average, people watch about
thirty hours of television a week. But the people who go beyond this mark are known
to society as “couch potatoes”. The “couch potatoes” are the people who sit in
front of the television for hours on end, and will only get out of their seat to
get something to drink or to go to the bathroom.
Forms of entertainment like the Internet, television and even video games seem
harmless to people, but they are really not.
Without the technological advances we have had over the years, the world would not
be what it is today.