A presentation for the Queen's film 260 class

1. 1
Mindfulness
& media
By Ethan Beech

2. 2
Is it possible to live mindfully
in an age of technology?

3. 3
“Mindfulness means maintaining a moment-by-
moment awareness of our thoughts, feelings,
bodily sensations, and surrounding
environment” (7)
What is
Mindfulness?

4. 4
“It’s about living your life as if it really
mattered, moment by moment by moment”
John Kabat Zinn
(7)

5. 5
If “Monotasking is a
21st century term
for…paying
attention”
MonoTasking
Or Mindfulness
It is a practice of
Mindfulness
(9)

6. 6
Mindfulness has many benefits
01
02
03
“studies have found that mindfulness increases positive
emotions while reducing negative emotions and stress”
“Mindfulness enhances relationships…research
suggest...[it] make couples more satisfied with their
realtionships”
“Mindfulness helps us tune out distractions and
improves our memory and attention skills”
(7)
(7)
(7)

7. 7
How does technology affect
our ability to be mindful?

8. 8
Canadians who own a
smartphone “that is,
half the country- claimed
to spend 86percent of
their time staringat one
screenor another”(1)

9. 9
9
“Our gadgets
and all the
things we look
at on them are
designed to
not let us
single task”(9)

10. 10
10
“Humans have finite neural resources
that are depleted every time we switch
between tasks”
This happens 400x a day
(9)
(9)

11. 11
11
It takes 25minutes
to refocus after
switching tasks (1)

12. 12
“When we’re trying to focus on a
task, it probably doesn’t help to have
our wrists lighting up with new
messages and reminders every 15
minutes”
And Newtechnologies may make it
Evenharderto focus
(3)

13. 13
“What the net seemsto be doing is chipping
awaymy capacityfor concentration and
contemplation”(5)

14. 14
Relationships & Technology
“Facebook could cause problems in relationships, by increasing
feeling of jealousy. Another group of researchers has
suggested that envy, too, increases with Facebook use.”(4)

15. 15
15
“The researchseemstopoint that the more
time we spendbyourselveson the internet
the more unhappywe feel”(2)

16. 16
However, some technologies
can help us stay mindful

17. 17
Features a “free 10
day program with
10 minute guided
meditations”
Offers free
meditation programs
tailored to specific
age groups
A paid app that
provides users users
with 80 guided
meditations
There are 500+ meditation apps
Here are a few
Smiling Mind Headspace Buddhify
(11)(11) (6)
(11)

18. 18
And New
technologies
can help us maintain
a state of mindfulness

19. 19
19
“Neuroscientist Ruggero Scorcioni created a headset that
tracks brainwaves and blocks incoming phone calls when the
wearer is in a state of concentration” (1)

20. 20
Or should mindfulness be modernized
for the digital age?
“We’ve studies multi-tasking and found that if you’re
open and keep the boundaries loose, it can be an
advantage”
“What you want is soft openness- to be attentive to the
things you’re doing but not single minded, because then
you’re missing other opportunities”
(8)
(8)
- Harvard Professor Ellen Jane Langer
- Harvard Professor Ellen Jane Langer

21. 21
While not without challenge, through the use of
assistive technology and flexible thinking it is
possible to maintain mindfulness in the digital age

22. 22
Works Cited
Anderssen, Erin. "Digital Overload: How We Are Seduced by Distraction." The Globe and Mail. N.p., 29 Mar.
2014. Web. 31 May 2016.
Chayka, Kyla. "The New, Improved Online Friendship." New York Magazine. N.p., 24 Mar. 2015. Web. 31
May 2016.
Konnikova, Maria. "How Facebook Makes Us Unhappy." The New Yorker. N.p., 10 Sept. 2013. Web. 03 June 2016.
Matrix, Sidneyeve. "Module 01 Digital Literacy." FILM 260 S Digital Culture Trends. Queen's University, 3 May
2016. Web. 1 June 2016
Cole, Samantha. "How The Apple Watch Will Change Office Life." Fast Company. N.p., 12 Mar. 2015. Web. 02
June 2016.
"Mindfulness & Meditation App for IOS & Android · Buddhify." Buddhify. Mindfulness Everywhere, n.d. Web.
02 June 2016.
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)

23. 23
Works Cited
Stern, Caryl. "In Praise of Clicktivism." The Huffington Post. N.p., 31 Mar. 2015. Web. 31 May 2016.
Pfetten, Verena. "Read This Story Without Distraction (Can You?)." The New York Times.
The New York Times, 30 Apr. 2016. Web. 31 May 2016.
Wei, Marlynn. "What Mindfulness App Is Right for You?" The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com,
24 Aug. 2015. Web. 02 June 2016.
"Mindfulness in the Age of Complexity." Harvard Business Review. N.p., 01 Mar. 2014. Web. 01 June 2016.
"Mindfulness." Greater Good: The Science of a Meaningful Life. UC Berkeley, n.d. Web. 01 June 2016.(7)
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)

24. 24
Images
http://www.splitshire.com/paper-notebook-and-digital-notebook/
https://pixabay.com/en/balance-stones-meditation-zen-1372677/
https://pixabay.com/en/office-startup-business-home-office-594132/
https://pixabay.com/en/macbook-iphone-ipad-mobile-desk-667280/
http://www.splitshire.com/hand-holding-little-daisy-spring/
http://www.splitshire.com/close-view-app-store-icon/
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(7)
All graphics are from the PowerPoint template. The photos are from royalty free websites and are
listed in the order they appear in the presentation
https://pixabay.com/en/ipad-tablet-technology-touch-820272/(6)

25. 25
Images
https://pixabay.com/en/office-meeting-business-partners-336368/
http://www.splitshire.com/girl-near-window-thinking/
http://www.splitshire.com/macbook-air/
http://www.splitshire.com/macbook-ipad-iphone-vintage-camera/
(8)
(9)
(10)
(11)