I happened across an uplifting article in the paper last week by Elissa Baxter: “Blogging makes you Happy- it’s official.”

It seems that Blogging has become so popular that it has prompted health officials to conduct a study into the effects of Blogging on the human mind. While we poor bloggers have long been characterised as “lonely desperate souls searching for validation in our meaningless lives” the study actually found that:

• Blogging encourages critical thinking
• Blogging encourages feelings of connection with other people
• Bloggers feel less lonely as a group
• Bloggers feel less isolated and more satisfied with their friendships
• Bloggers feel less anxious, less depressed and less stressed

The study concluded that this was because blogs are a medium rich in ideas that encourage them to exchange and critique information.

It would seem that some bloggers find that regularly posting in their blog is a constant that they can always return to, something that gives them a sense of regularity in life. It’s also a creative outlet, a means to improve writing and part of a larger network as a whole.

Honestly, who here couldn’t have told the researchers that themselves?