During Apple’s Vision Pro video, they teased a “mindfulness app” that, according to Tom’s as well, shows you twirly “whoa dude” visuals combined with prompts. While I have little doubt that such an experience is pleasurable (I want to try it), it seems like a counterfeit of any real meditation or mindfulness practice. And as someone who gets real benefit from a mindful meditation practice, I’m a little nervous watching a huge corporation try to sell it as a product feature. You can’t pay for mindfulness (except with your time and attention) and you don’t need any product at all to get started. And frankly, I think any practitioner would discourage a light show, at least when getting started, because such a spectacle is more likely to put you back in your head, rather than helping you find separation from it.
I’m similarly unsure of whether Apple’s “journaling” feature will really foster introspection. I have nothing against journaling apps, and maybe theirs is a good one, but I’m a little worried that pulling in photos and signals from your devices will result in something like an “instagram for yourself” rather than any real journaling.
So, I’m not exactly against this features, but I really think that consumers are going to be fed a bubblegum mass-produced “woo” that distracts from the real benefits of mindfulness and journaling. It’s maybe a bit like the Apple Watch as a fitness tracker: sure, it does a good job monitoring your heartbeat, but buying an Apple Watch does not help you work out and working out is something you can 100% do for free.
Maybe. But maybe there’s an opportunity cost. And maybe it keeps them from finding out about the “real thing” because they’re busy watching animations.
I don’t see the two as mutually exclusive. You can have these kind of “fun” apps. The journal app might be really cool to see what you were doing and how you felt 5 years ago. You can also do those kind of deep reflections with paper or a word processor or whatever.
During Apple’s Vision Pro video, they teased a “mindfulness app” that, according to Tom’s as well, shows you twirly “whoa dude” visuals combined with prompts. While I have little doubt that such an experience is pleasurable (I want to try it), it seems like a counterfeit of any real meditation or mindfulness practice. And as someone who gets real benefit from a mindful meditation practice, I’m a little nervous watching a huge corporation try to sell it as a product feature. You can’t pay for mindfulness (except with your time and attention) and you don’t need any product at all to get started. And frankly, I think any practitioner would discourage a light show, at least when getting started, because such a spectacle is more likely to put you back in your head, rather than helping you find separation from it.
I’m similarly unsure of whether Apple’s “journaling” feature will really foster introspection. I have nothing against journaling apps, and maybe theirs is a good one, but I’m a little worried that pulling in photos and signals from your devices will result in something like an “instagram for yourself” rather than any real journaling.
So, I’m not exactly against this features, but I really think that consumers are going to be fed a bubblegum mass-produced “woo” that distracts from the real benefits of mindfulness and journaling. It’s maybe a bit like the Apple Watch as a fitness tracker: sure, it does a good job monitoring your heartbeat, but buying an Apple Watch does not help you work out and working out is something you can 100% do for free.
If it lets people get into mindfulness, however adulterated you might describe it, isn’t that still a good thing?
Maybe. But maybe there’s an opportunity cost. And maybe it keeps them from finding out about the “real thing” because they’re busy watching animations.
I don’t see the two as mutually exclusive. You can have these kind of “fun” apps. The journal app might be really cool to see what you were doing and how you felt 5 years ago. You can also do those kind of deep reflections with paper or a word processor or whatever.