While popular, researchers say there is a serious lack of evidence to back up mindfulness apps, even though they are increasingly perceived as proven treatments for mental health.

Not backed up by science

A handful of studies have been published on the efficacy of mindfulness apps, thanks in part to Headspace, one of the most popular apps in the field. In hopes of getting its app scientifically validated, the organization has partnered on more than 60 studies with 35 academic institutions. In the meantime, in lieu of research proving that apps work, marketers tend to draw misleading, but attractive claims.

Seeking scientific validation

<ol><li>Most apps use a subscription model, that rely on user dependence—reinforcing, rather than breaking, habits.</li><li>Apps encourage the idea that meditation is a solo practice, whereas in the past it was often learned in group settings.</li><li>It’s always guided—something you do alone or with headphones in. Users can’t ask questions or get personalized instruction. </li><li>Meditation apps sometimes imply that their app’s brand of meditation is the only style of meditation.</li></ol>

Apps Are Changing Mindfulness

Digital mindfulness training could be effective in theory: it can be affordable, accessible, flexible, anonymous, empowering, and enjoyable. It might be in helping users see mindfulness as part of their lives. But when a meditation app becomes just another habit, like checking email, it risks becoming less mindfulness training and more so just another piece of technology taking up headspace.

The positive in digital mindfulness

Mindfulness disrupts unhelpful habits. If you get distracted easily or have addictions, mindfulness helps curb these habits. But, in contrast, apps become popular and profitable by getting users lightly addicted to repetitive use. So, can an app really treat addiction, or is it inherently part of the problem? As of now, we don’t know the answer to that question.

The paradox of mindfulness apps

When people have their first meditation experience with an app, the nature of the app influences how they understand meditation. For the vast majority, meditation apps = meditation. So they miss the real point of mindfulness this - as a way to experience the present moment.

Designing a culture

Meditation apps help users see mindfulness as part of their lives but they also run the risk of becoming just another tech habit. In 2003 and 2004, 63 prisoners at a Seattle jail enrolled in a 10-day meditation course as part of a study by the University of Washington.