Tech Lifestyle: Hacking Health & Happiness through Technology
- LMGE
- Jul 17
- 4 min read
In a world where your smartwatch knows your pulse before you do, and your fridge tells you you're out of kale (again), it’s clear: technology is no longer just about convenience—it’s about conquering your own health and adding to your happiness. But can tech really make us healthier and happier? Spoiler alert: yes, with a side of Wi-Fi.
Let’s start with health. Once upon a time, fitness advice came from your overly energetic cousin who "swore by Zumba." Now, we have AI-powered apps that analyze your sleep, suggest personalized workouts, and even track how many steps you’ve taken. Who needs a judgmental cousin when your watch can buzz passive-aggressively about your sedentary Sunday?
Technology as a Friend
Technology is here to stay, and there are ways we can use tech as an aid to our happiness. That's a fact that many of us have already accepted. We even expect it to be a valuable resource for nearly every aspect of our lives, including leveraging it as if it were a trusted friend.
Promoting Positive Psychology
Positive psychology can go a long way when thinking of ways to be happier in your day-to-day life. People who think positively, behave in a positive way, surround themselves with hope, and are generally happier people. Those who are typically negative, use negative phrases, and express themselves negatively are less likely to be happy.
We can utilize technology to aid in developing a positive psychology. Apps such as Happify, Personal Zen, Mindfulness Daily, and many others, have daily routines to practice positivity. Managing your social media feed by unfollowing the pages and friends that don’t bring happiness into your life can help reduce or eliminate the bombardment of negativity.
Take mental health apps, for instance. They’ve turned smartphones into portable therapists. Can’t meditate because your thoughts are racing?
Apps like Calm and Headspace gently guide you to inner peace, all while charging you a subscription fee that ironically could stress you out. Still, with soothing voices and calming visuals, they’re pretty good at tricking your brain into Zen mode.
Beyond physical health, technology has played a major role in enhancing mental well-being and happiness. Meditation and mindfulness apps, such as Headspace and Calm, help users manage stress, while virtual therapy platforms provide easy access to professional mental health support. Social media and video calls help people stay connected with loved ones, reducing loneliness and strengthening relationships, which is crucial for emotional well-being.
However, overuse of digital platforms can have the opposite effect, leading to anxiety and social comparison, highlighting the need for a balanced approach to technology use.
Now, on to happiness. Who knew algorithms could do more than recommend movies you’ll never watch? Today, they curate music playlists that lift your spirits, suggest hobbies you didn’t know you’d love (ax-throwing, anyone?), and help you find friends—or dates—through digital matchmaking. Just make sure to swipe right on Wi-Fi compatibility.
Of course, there’s a catch. Tech can easily tip from tonic to toxic. Doom Scrolling through the news at midnight? Not great. But like any good relationship, balance is key. Use tech to amplify the good stuff—connection, self-care, learning—and minimize the not-so-good stuff (endless Tik-Tok loops).
Sharing Accomplishments and Achievements
Achieving a goal and progressing in life generally brings happiness. Documenting and sharing our successes with others helps us feel accomplished and accountable. Using apps to measure accomplishments and set new goals can help improve positive self-evaluation. However, online sharing of accomplishments can be a double-edged sword when it leads to comparison. Its important to understand that this is not about bragging or having one-up on the others. “Happy people can see and share progress in their lives and they realize that they’re on a never-ending road of progress and they don’t get bogged down because they’re not the best or the smartest or anything else. What they do is they say, ‘this is where I am today, and if I do the following things, I can then measure my progress and achievement over time.’” This is a group sharing motivational effort, not an invite for haters to agonize over your journey.
We can use technology to learn new habits that facilitate healthy positive thinking by searching for interesting articles, reading through blogs, immersing ourselves into tech-based training modules (i.e., apps and websites), and/or participating in an online community focusing on topics that are meaningful to you can help exercise positive thought.
We must also look to ourselves to have a better understanding of where our thoughts and emotions are coming from, and practice removing ourselves from the bad to see the good. Technology can help motivate this self-evaluation, but we must also try to remove ourselves from technology every now and then to truly see what goes on behind the curtains of our thinking.
In short, technology isn’t the enemy; it’s the ultimate sidekick. Whether it’s reminding you to hydrate, helping you laugh at a meme, or turning your living room into a disco with smart lights, tech can elevate your health and happiness—one algorithm at a time. So, plug in, power up, and live your best Wi-Fi-connected life.
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