A smile is as infectious as laughter and typically passes on to three people, according to research.
A poll of 2,000 Brits looked into how far positivity can spread, with three quarters claiming a smile from someone brightens their day.
And 28 per cent value it so much, they feel being on the receiving end of a grin is worth more than a gift.
While 62 per cent said a simple smile from someone leaves them feeling more confident and 36 per cent wanting to do something nice for someone else.
The study was commissioned by Belvita which teamed up with Katie Piper, to create an uplifting portrait series celebrating and representing smiles that have sparked community spirit across the UK.
Shot by world-renowned celebrity portrait photographer, Andy Gotts, the series features five local heroes alongside the philanthropist, who have gone above and beyond in their local communities.
These include Oyovwe Agatha Kigho, founder of the Widows Empowerment Trust, and Stefan Simanowitz and Paul Moore, co-founders of Take One, Leave One.
As well as Sam Pritchard, who started the ‘Cards Fighting Loneliness’ initiative and Jacky Alder, a local wonder woman who cooked, shopped and dog-walked for elderly residents in her community throughout the pandemic.
jQuery(document).ready(function($) {
// We only want these styles applied when javascript is enabled
$(‘.gal_content’).css(‘display’, ‘block’);
// Initialize Advanced Galleriffic Gallery
var gallery = $(‘#thumbs_66903_1’).galleriffic({
delay: 0,
numThumbs: 0,
preloadAhead: 0,
enableTopPager: false,
enableBottomPager: false,
imageContainerSel: ‘#slideshow_66903_1’,
controlsContainerSel: ‘#controls_66903_1’,
captionContainerSel: ‘#caption_66903_1’,
loadingContainerSel: ‘#loading_66903_1’,
renderSSControls: true,
renderNavControls: false,
playLinkText: ”,
pauseLinkText: ”,
enableHistory: false,
autoStart: false,
enableKeyboardNavigation: true,
syncTransitions: false,
defaultTransitionDuration: 300,
onTransitionOut: function(slide, caption, isSync, callback) {
slide.fadeTo(this.getDefaultTransitionDuration(isSync), 0.0, callback);
caption.fadeTo(this.getDefaultTransitionDuration(isSync), 0.0);
},
onTransitionIn: function(slide, caption, isSync) {
var duration = this.getDefaultTransitionDuration(isSync);
slide.fadeTo(duration, 1.0);
// Position the caption at the bottom of the image and set its opacity
var slideImage = slide.find(‘img’);
caption.fadeTo(duration, 1.0);
},
onPageTransitionOut: function(callback) {
//this.hide();
setTimeout(callback, 100); // wait a bit
},
onPageTransitionIn: function() {
var prevPageLink = this.find(‘a.prev’).css({‘opacity’: ‘0.3’ , ‘display’ : ‘inline-block’, ‘cursor’ : ‘default’});
var nextPageLink = this.find(‘a.next’).css({‘opacity’: ‘0.3’ , ‘display’ : ‘inline-block’, ‘cursor’ : ‘default’});
// Show appropriate next