The Future of Wellness is Digital
Well, Well, Wellness
My passion for wellness runs deep, and has been one of my greatest sources of stability and joy throughout the Covid pandemic. My health conscious West Coast roots, aesthetic eye, and strong intuition has primed me to explore areas such as herbalism, yoga, meditation, and skincare. Wellness is an incredible resource for personal betterment, enjoyment, and living a more intentional life. From products, eating habits, bits of wisdom, and entertainment, wellness pursues a higher state of being through almost every medium possible — almost.
The Digital Age
We are enmeshed in a complex digital landscape, by varying degrees of personal investment and flexibility. If you have any ties to the digital, chances are you’ve seen tensions rise in recent years over the negative effects of technology on our lives, from tech CEOs testifying before Congress to major media reactions like the Social Dilemma and Coded Bias. Not everyone is flourishing in the age of silicon, and it sure would be nice to figure out why.
After conducting AI ethics research in college, writing my senior philosophy thesis on data privacy ethics, and dipping my toes into The Real World of responsible tech in both industry and advocacy, I learned more than I ever dreamed of about the complicated relationships between users, companies, legislation, and the tech ecosystem as its own entity. I still know close to nothing and have to constantly keep up with innovations and research, and there’s so many things I want to help improve in my lifetime.
So What?
In my experience in the world as a digital person and an unrelenting investigator of my two greatest passions of wellness and digital life, I have concluded that digital habits are a keystone component of the wellness lexicon that is highly underdeveloped. I’m by no means the first person to have this idea, as digital detox retreats and routines have been growing in popularity for as long as the digital has existed. What I want to explore is a holistic approach of the digital, a collection of knowledge, attitudes, and practices that cultivates a healthy relationship to technology in an accessible and implementable way.
Wellness certainly has a strength in dealing with the digital: components of wellness are often a fusion of ancient wisdom with modern science and lifestyles. Take Ayurveda as a prime example. Handling the digital in a mindful way has already gained traction from ancient western philosophy. Virtue ethics is the philosophy of doing what is right in accordance with what is best to develop one’s character. The need for better digital habits stems from this school of thought: what is right is what is virtuous, and we ought to cultivate virtue through good digital habits as well as physical ones.
By asserting that the future of wellness is digital, I am not implying a sort of ascetic transhumanism where we advance into a higher plane through neural implantation — in fact, I think that would cause some problems. I’m asserting that wellness will be an even more worthwhile pursuit and a more lucrative industry if digital concerns are taken into account considerably more, in the same way wellness takes into account stress from work or not eating a well-balanced diet. It’s important to not that this pursuit should not come at the expense of accounting for physical concerns.
As a case study of what a positive digital experience is like, let’s examine the meditation platform, Headspace. The app is designed for calm, with pleasant colors and shapes, as well as neutral language and a finite amount of scrolling possible. New content is presented consistently and in the same location — no slot machine style engineering to be found. Headspace is an example of a concept called human centered design, and it’s been gaining traction in the UX community and in responsible tech spheres. What’s notable is that Headspace is a wellness platform, with the goal of fostering healthy habits through mindful living, focusing on meditation habits.
It would be absolutely peachy if every digital experience were designed in a way that respects the time, attention, and privacy of the user. But we don’t live in that world, and we’re about to live in a whole different one. The growth of the Metaverse will only heighten the need for digital wellness, as our involvement in the digital world will likely increase.
Yet Another Personal Anecdote
I present myself as both in need of guidance and a guide, a follower and a leader. I came of age online as all digital natives have, but still remember dial-up internet and the first flip phones. As the world grew from analog to digital, so did I and everyone around me, which was not without its growing pains. This position can be disadvantageous. Coming of age online often creates dependence on being online, as analog identity is formed alongside the digital one, sometimes inseparably so.
I seek to develop what an actionable version of the holistic digital view, to flesh out what things are helpful to know and what aren’t, what works and what doesn’t. The way toward flourishing is to tread diligently into the digital landscape that sprawls infinitely before us.
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What do you think? Am I living in a pipe dream? Is any of this real? Leave your thoughts below!
