The short answer is yes. Now let’s explore the details.
We typically feel a sense of happiness and satisfaction when we achieve our goals. There are two primary cases where typing can contribute to happiness:
- On a small timescale, typing itself can make us happy if we have set it as a goal. For example, a gaming community once started competing on a website called NitroType.com, with members striving to improve their typing skills. For each member, the act of typing becomes a trigger for positive feelings – the sense of belonging to the community, the excitement of personal progress, and the various pleasures associated with their shared pursuit. Typing directly elicits happiness because it represents the achievement of their immediate goal.
- Over a longer period, typing can facilitate the accomplishment of larger goals that ultimately lead to happiness. For instance, a writer may not find joy in the physical act of typing alone, but it enables them to craft stories or essays that provide a deep sense of creative fulfillment and self-expression when completed. An office worker may find little enjoyment from typing per se, but it allows them to be productive, communicate effectively, and earn a living – all of which contribute to their overall contentment and life satisfaction.
In summary, while typing is usually a means to an end, it can generate happiness either directly by being the goal itself or indirectly by facilitating the achievement of other goals that result in emotional rewards and life satisfactions. The key factor is our ability to derive pleasure and positive feelings from the process, the outcome, or the larger context in which the typing takes place.
According to psychologists and neuroscientists happiness and being happy – is a habit. While happiness arises from positive experiences, frequently experiencing and physiologically reinforcing pleasant emotions makes them more ingrained as a recurring state over time. Just like any other habit, happiness becomes easier to experience when triggered by consistent cues.
Why keyboards can be effective triggers for happiness:
Studies across the world show that happiness is often a habit, and habits rely on triggers. It is easier to reinforce a habit if there is a physical trigger or cue that we can engage with. For this reason, a keyboard becomes a perfect candidate, even more effective than a touchscreen or touchpad, since it allows for direct physical contact and input.
If we consciously decide to associate the keyboard with achieving our goals, it can become a multi-sensory trigger for happiness. Many people have computers with keyboards readily available, making it a highly accessible tool.
Scientific research has demonstrated that our senses play a crucial role in triggering memories, habits, and actions. When we use a keyboard, we activate not only our visual memory but also our tactile (touch) memory, which is deeply embedded in our nervous system and has a direct connection to our brain.
The simple act of pressing keys on a keyboard might even be inherently entertaining or satisfying, similar to how children find pleasure in playing with bubble wrap or fidget toys – both of which tap into our tactile senses.
In essence, keyboards excel as potential triggers for happiness because they are ubiquitous, engage multiple senses (particularly touch), and can be easily associated with achieving goals – whether those goals are work-related, creative, or simply pursuing a sense of progress and accomplishment through activities like gaming.