Parents need to know that Three Good Things — A Happiness Journal is a very simple, free journal app that enables users to record three positive experiences every day. Each entry is limited to 100 characters or less. Created by a teenager, the app is based on brain research that suggests focusing on positive moments daily can increase happiness. Users can “level up” every time they add a daily journal entry, share their entries on Facebook or Twitter (sharing is optional), gain experience points, view previous entries, set a custom notification, and more. Note: At the time of this review, this app did not have a posted privacy policy.

WHAT’S IT ABOUT?

To use Three Good Things — A Happiness Journal, first enter your name. The journal page opens for you to log three answers to the question: What went well today? Tap the first box to type (up to 100 characters) a good thing that happened. If you like, share on social media. Repeat with the second and third boxes. View your stats, set a daily reminder time, and scroll back to view previous journal entries.

IS IT ANY GOOD?

This gratitude journal app is a simple way for kids, teens, and adults to increase positive vibes. Three Good Things — A Happiness Journal can provide a place for anyone to reflect every day on what’s going right in life. What helps set it apart from paper journals is that users can set a reminder so they won’t forget to take a few minutes to write down three good things that went well for them that day, they can look back to previous days and re-read their happy moments, and they can share any or all of their reflections on social media if they choose. There’s no guarantee that using Three Good Things — A Happiness Journal will improve every user’s happiness, but there is some research to indicate that it might work, and it can’t hurt to give it a try!

RATING AND CONTENT

Recommended for ages 7 and older

Quality: 4 out of 5

Educational value: 3 out of 5

Ease of play: 4 out of 5

Violence and scariness: 0 out of 5

Sexy stuff: 0 out of 5

Language: 0 out of 5

Drinking, drugs, and smoking: 0 out of 5

Consumerism: 0 out of 5 (Are products/advertisements embedded? Is the title part of a broader marketing initiative/empire? Is the intent to sell things to kids?)

APP DETAILS

Devices: iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad

Price: Free

Release date: June 6, 2017

Category: Health and Fitness

Size: 13.30 MB

Publisher: Asher Dale

Minimum software requirements: iOS 10.0 or later