The Link Gallery
MAISIE
Mindfulness has been defined as a more holistic awareness of being in the moment and ‘reconnecting with our bodies’. It has become a key concept in tackling the pressure of modern society and the demands of the digital age. Technology is often cast as an opponent in this narrative; it distracts us, overwhelms us, brings us to a phase of being human which is no longer human.
Critical reflections on ‘the human’ are certainly not new, neither is the health benefit of ‘mindfulness’ for teenagers and young adults. What is original to this project is the connection between the posthuman condition and mindfulness. Posthumanism is an emerging field of study, which has the entanglement of ‘being human’ with another entity (in this case, technology) at its core. Yet there have only been a handful of studies concerned with the effects of mobile or wearable technology on mindfulness. In particular, the now commercially available EEG headbands claim ‘to bring us a calmer mind’ and educate us in reconnecting with our nature. Through this materialised point of contact, we can learn more about the (perceived) interaction between human and technology; how it mediates and transforms our experience of being human.
Entry by: Dr Caroline Stockman (Senior Lecturer in Education Studies, University of Winchester)
More information on The University of Winchester Research:
www.winchester.ac.uk/research/Pages/research.aspx
MAISIE
Mindfulness has been defined as a more holistic awareness of being in the moment and ‘reconnecting with our bodies’. It has become a key concept in tackling the pressure of modern society and the demands of the digital age. Technology is often cast as an opponent in this narrative; it distracts us, overwhelms us, brings us to a phase of being human which is no longer human.
Critical reflections on ‘the human’ are certainly not new, neither is the health benefit of ‘mindfulness’ for teenagers and young adults. What is original to this project is the connection between the posthuman condition and mindfulness. Posthumanism is an emerging field of study, which has the entanglement of ‘being human’ with another entity (in this case, technology) at its core. Yet there have only been a handful of studies concerned with the effects of mobile or wearable technology on mindfulness. In particular, the now commercially available EEG headbands claim ‘to bring us a calmer mind’ and educate us in reconnecting with our nature. Through this materialised point of contact, we can learn more about the (perceived) interaction between human and technology; how it mediates and transforms our experience of being human.
Entry by: Dr Caroline Stockman (Senior Lecturer in Education Studies, University of Winchester)
More information on The University of Winchester Research:
www.winchester.ac.uk/research/Pages/research.aspx