Does Blogging Make You Happier?

Researchers in Taiwan believe that blogging may make people happier.  

Okay, first the issues with the sample.  It was a self-reported survey of 596 students.  The subjects were overwhelmingly between 16-22 and female (71 percent).  Not the worst social science methodology, but not anything to write home about.  Members of the group had previous experience blogging.  There was no control group.  The instrument was self reported.  The sample does not align with basic demographic patterns for age and gender.  And, etc.

Key finding:  The researchers found support for deeper self-disclosure from bloggers resulting in a range of better social connections.  These included things such as a sense of greater social integration, which is how connected we feel to society and our own community of friends and others; an increase in social bonding (our tightly knit, intimate relationships); and social bridging -- increasing our connectedness with people who might be from outside our typical social network.

I'm not persuaded the authors, Ko and Kuo, are wrong only that there are a few holes here worth further examination.  Perhaps writing in an online, open and public forum is an aid to self-disclosure.  Perhaps it deepens social connections.  We all know that digital media lowers the costs -- particularly in time, energy and expense -- of maintaining relationships.  But does it make us happier?  Or perhaps bloggers are happier people in general -- correlation and causation come to mind.  Perhaps few people like to admit -- even on an anonymous survey -- that he or she is unhappy.

Strictly speaking, a rationalist might argue that people are happiness maximizers, many people blog, no one would maintain a blog if he or she were happier to devote time to other pursuits, ipso facto blogging makes (many) people happier than not blogging.  Somehow, I don't think this is where the new report is headed.  Nor do I think that reason is the only controlling authority on our behavior.  

As they say in the academy when it is time for new grant applications, this is promising research in need of further study.

HT Guy Kawasaki.