This item is non-discoverable
Mindbending: an ethnography of meditation apps in an age of digital distraction
Loading...
Authors
Jablonsky, Rebecca
Issue Date
2020-08
Type
Electronic thesis
Thesis
Thesis
Language
en_US
Keywords
Science and technology studies
Alternative Title
Abstract
At a time when the public is increasingly concerned about the negative effects of constant digital connection on mental health, this dissertation examines an emerging cultural paradox: the widespread adoption of meditation apps such as Headspace and Calm to shape the mind for the better. Based on 18 months of ethnographic fieldwork and qualitative interviews with designers and users of meditation apps, my research analyzes this paradox to answer the following questions: How do meditation apps shape and reflect changing cultural definitions of mental health in the digital age? What role does technology design play in this process? I argue that the proliferation of meditation apps reflects new cultural expectations for performing mental health that are governed by the design and economic logics of the technology industry. These expectations fundamentally change how mental health is defined and experienced—particularly as emerging technologies continually impinge upon the mind, and move the baseline for mental health further from reach. Mindbending is the term I use to refer to a conceptualization of mental health as a state of mind that can bend itself according to the principles of digital technology. Mindbending is a double entendre, referring to both the literal expectation for mental flexibility engendered by meditative practice, and the metaphorical expectation to embrace a counterintuitive relationship with digital technology when using a meditation app. Mindbending signals a collective desire to think more flexibly about technology—to bend the mind towards working with digital tools in careful partnership, rather than being consumed by them or refusing them outright. It also produces perplexing tensions that can’t be fully resolved by technology alone, inviting reflection on the limits of the technology industry’s promise to solve the mental health crisis in the United States, and probing the boundaries of how far a mind can bend before it breaks.
Description
August2020
School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences
Full Citation
Publisher
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY