Mindfulness stems from Buddhist meditation practices and refers to the awareness that arises through paying attention on purpose in the present moment, and in a non-judgmental mindset.
In 1979, Jon Kabat-Zinn founded the Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program at the University of Massachusetts to treat the chronically ill.[5] He is noted[by whom?]
[8] Studies on the relationship between mindfulness and technology are fairly new, with some of the more recent research highlighting the importance the practice plays in safety.
Neurofeedback helps individuals maintain optimal brainwave patterns during mindfulness exercises, improving their ability to achieve and sustain a state of non-judgmental awareness.
For instance, a randomized controlled trial is examining the effectiveness of real-time fMRI neurofeedback combined with mindfulness practice for adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD).
[10] Various desktop and mobile applications aid users in practicing mindfulness, including Calm, Headspace, Insight Timer, Buddhify, and Yours App.
A 2012 study published in *Frontiers in Human Neuroscience* found that Mindful Attention training can down-regulate emotional reactivity, with changes in brain activity persisting in everyday life, not just during meditation.
[11] According to Vietnamese Zen teacher Thich Nhat Hanh, the ringing of a bell every 15 minutes[14] is an effective way to cultivate the mindfulness practice and connect back with the body.
[16] Being, the mindfulness tracker from Zensorium, maps user's emotions (stressed, excited normal and calm) through heart rate variability.
[17] WellBe monitors heart rate levels and then matches them, through a patent pending algorithm, to specific moments and interactions throughout a user's day.
[19] The researchers conducted a qualitative study with 39 participants to show how persuasive media has the potential to promote long-term psychological health by experientially introducing a stress-relieving, contemplative practice to non-practitioners.
[21] Inspired by Bell's work, researchers (Sterling & Zimmerman) focused on how mobile phones could be incorporated in American Soto Zen Buddhist community, without conflicting with their philosophy of “the here and the now”.
[30] Critics argue that mindfulness in technology can lead to technophobia, pacification of workplace grievances, and disconnection from religious roots.
This argument itself can be tied back to rationalization, Walter Benjamin on aura, Jacques Ellul on technique, Jean Baudrillard on simulations, or Zygmunt Bauman and the Frankfurt School on modernity and the Enlightenment.
Critics state that disconnectionists see the Internet as having normalized or enforced a repression of an authentic self in favor of a social media avatar.
The wide adoption of mindfulness in technology and the tech industry has been accused of increasing passivity in the worker by creating a calm mindstate which then allows for disconnection from actual grievances.
[33] However, critics of the movement, such as Ronald Purser, fear that the secularization of mindfulness, dubbed McMindfulness,[36] leads to reinforcement of anti-Buddhist ideas.
Mindfulness as adopted by the Silicon Valley tech giants has been criticized as conveniently shifting the burden of stress and toxic work environment onto the individual employee.
Obfuscated by the seemingly inherent qualities of care and humanity, mindfulness is refashioned into a way of coping with and adapting to the stresses and strains of corporate life rather than actually solving them.