The future of mindfulness training is digital, and the future is now

Abstract

Digital mindfulness-based interventions (d-MBIs) present a promising path for the scalable dissemination of mindfulness instruction in the 21st century. Smartphone applications and web-based platforms can offer potential advantages over traditional face-to-face formats through enhanced accessibility, standardization, personalization, and efficacy of mindfulness training. A growing body of research has documented that a digital approach to teaching mindfulness can improve measures of attention, stress, depression, and anxiety. However, effective digital mindfulness instruction must overcome a variety of challenges, including the possibility of low engagement, shallow learning, and unaddressed obstacles or frustrations. Fortunately, best practices from multiple fields of research provide strategies to overcome these challenges.