Can Mobile Technology Help Us Be More Mindful?
A product called Spire came across one of my social media feeds today. This wearable technology attaches to your clothing and monitors your breathing patterns. If you are stressed, Spire will know and send you a notification on your smartphone with a reminder to take a moment to breathe deeply. The concept seems similar to a Fitbit.
Source: YouTube
To answer the question, "Can mobile technology help us be more mindful?", I think it helps to have a basic understanding of mindfulness.
Jon Kabat-Zinn, in his book Wherever You Go, There You Are, defines mindfulness as "paying attention in a particular way: on purpose, in the present moment, and nonjudgmentally" (4).
Ellen Langer, in her book Mindfulness, describes the benefits of this concept, such as "greater control, richer options, and transcend limits" (4) in our thinking and our lives, versus the negative effects of mindlessness which include poor decision making and being more susceptible to our biases.
So will wearable technology like Spire help someone with stress (see: everyone) improve their attention span, be more present in the moment, and have greater control in his or her intentions? I think this will largely depend on how a person uses their smartphone and related mobile technology, and have very little to do with Spire itself. If a person is stressed by outside factors at work, such as employee relations, then I could see some benefits. However, if a person's stressors are a result of their connections, then Spire probably would be a waste of money (and at $149, that is considerable).
I consider my own mobile tech use. I regularly check email, read social media feeds, and receive reminders via text and notifications. After engaging in all of these connections, I'm pretty sure my breathing rate is going to escalate, at least if it is largely related to my work as a school principal. Because Spire utilizes the same features that technology providers also use to keep me engaged in their products, I would predict that the effectiveness of it would be marginal at best. Rather, I would need to heavily reduce all of my connections on my smartphone to become more mindful. But then why would I need this product?
While Spire is a unique idea, I believe its effectiveness is correlated with how well we currently manage our connections. The context determines the outcome. Somewhat related, I think this product is another step toward technology not only becoming essential to our everyday lives, but actually becoming a part of us. There is certainly a paradox here. As I revealed about myself, often the stressors in our lives are the technology we use, such as that ever-growing email inbox. With Spire, are we reducing our stress, or just feeding the monster? That largely depends on our current habits.