Every day, millions of people around spend hours every single day glued to their mobile smartphone devices. These devices are renowned for their addictive traits, apps and unrestricted access to social media no matter what we are doing. All of these factors have already been proven to cause stress, but, could our smartphones actually be used for good?
Over the last couple of years, there has been a flurry of meditation apps to hit the app store markets. These apps are designed to allow you to a couple of minutes to an hour out of your day to relax and practice meditation easily. There is a wide variety of apps to choose from, one of the more recent ones being Headspace. This guided meditation app makes it easy for beginners to start learning the practice in a fun and engaging way. The app features info bites, informative animations and a vast number of sessions, ten of which are free. After the ten free sessions, the users must pay a monthly subscription to the app. At the time of writing, the app currently has in excess of 11 million downloads.
But just how effective are these apps? Is it really possible to practice such an activity, such as meditating, using a smartphone?
Rich Pierson, CEO of the Headspace app states that it’s an upcoming trend that is slowly gaining popularity. He exclaimed how the hobby of jogging used to be a rather unusual form of exercise but now is a commonly accepted practice. It’s this status he is trying to implement to the practice of meditating.
Many people believe that meditation apps should be taken with a pinch of salt. We live in an extremely ‘wired’ technological era. By having a meditation app, some believe we are simply adding to a daily checklist to our lives. Wake up, have a coffee, eat breakfast, gain perspective on the world, go to work. It’s a rather grey area when it comes to meditation. At its core, the whole idea is to disconnect from the bustle of everyday life and take a moment to reconnect with reality.
The Business of Meditation
One of the main concerns from meditation experts is the fact that meditation has become a business and there are a lot of people profiting from it. Headspace, for example, had reportedly made over $250 million by the beginning of 2017. This is rather shocking when you consider that you can easier practice for free using books or your own mental willpower.
As stated above, I personally believe that meditation apps should be taken with a pinch of salt. The practice of meditation does come with a huge amount of physical and mental benefits that have been scientifically proven time and time again. I think any form of engagement that encourages a practice such as meditation can only be taken positively.
However, the users of these apps should be aware that meditation takes a lot more willpower and practice to have a full experience. This is something you simply can’t get from just an app. With over a dozen extremely popular apps on the market, it will be interesting to see where the industry goes next.
Pierson explains that his next move will be to move towards home speaker systems, such as the Amazon Echo. This will allow people to meditate in the comfort of their own homes without their smartphones. But, is this just another move to make money from the rising trend?
We’d love to hear your thoughts on the mediation app industry! Do you think it’s a good thing for people around the world? Or do you believe this is simply another technological distraction used to make money? Leave a comment in the comment section below!
