Vilnius Gets Real-Time Happiness Barometer

The Happiness Barometer allows anyone at any time to see the mood of a particular place. This tool is great for travelers because not only does it give you the weather at the current time, but it allows you to gear yourself up or down depending on the general atmosphere of your desitnation.

People are invited to record their level of happiness on a scale of 0-10 on an hourly basis, as well as noting where they are located in the world. This allows you to gauge your emotional levels not only on an hourly basis but compared to the rest of the wold.

The founders of the Happiness Barometer say that the aim is to “encourage people around the world to smile more and share good emotions.”

Arturas Jonkus, co-founder of IQ Polls, which runs the software told CNN that “There are a lot of worldwide happiness indexes but most are based on economic criteria.”

According to a recent happiness report Lithuania is one of the world’s unhappiest countries, and the country to kickstart the initiative. Called the “Smile to Vilnius” campaign, the city was adorned by large outdoor digital displays that broadcasted in real-time the happiness level of the city.

Within the first week the average score was 6.1 out of 5,000 entries.

The Happiness Barometer has been picked up by almost 50 other cities, however there are far less votes that have been collected other than Vilnius.

“Our country [Lithuania] has one of the highest suicide rates in the world. We hope the Happy Barometer doesn’t only measure but also shares smiles,” Jonkus added.

This is not the first time that the amount of happiness has tried to be recorded. Bhutan uses the Gross National Happiness in place of the more typical Gross National Product. This data is used to determine the economic as well as the social development of the country.

However the Happiness Barometer is the first of it’s kind. How happy are you? Why not cast your vote and see how you measure up.