DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) – If you say you’re unhappy in Dubai, the police may call to ask you why as part of a new survey.
The online poll, unveiled in recent days, comes as Dubai tries to break into the top 10 rankings of world’s happiest cities by 2021, an effort in league with other lofty aspirations in this emirate, home to the world’s tallest building.
The simple survey has users choose between a frown, a smile and an unimpressed straight line. The police say they will call those who say they are unhappy, which puzzles some observers, including William Davies, a senior lecturer at the University of London who recently published the book “The Happiness Industry: How the Government and Big Business Sold Us Well-Being.”
“This looks like to me an attempt to try to slightly frighten people into A) replying to the survey question and B) replying to say they’re happy because people really don’t want to be rung up by the police with the question: ‘Well, what’s your problem?'” Davies said. “But I don’t know. Maybe there’s something sincere about it.”
The effort to measure happiness can be seen in government offices across Dubai, one of seven of the United Arab Emirates. Small tablet computers placed next to civil servants allow citizens to provide instant feedback on their experience. Last year, authorities also began ranking municipal offices with a two-to-seven star system based on their customer service, part of Dubai’s “smart government” push.