Mindfulness in Internet and New Media

Book excerpt: Mindfulness is about being aware in a certain way, being consciously aware on purpose, living in the present moment without mental judgment. In addition to the in-depth application of mindfulness in different subdisciplines of psychology (e.g., social, personality, clinical, developmental, health, organizational) there is also a trend toward cross-fertilization with other social and behavioral disciplines (e.g., design, kinesiology, sociology, family studies, education, anthropology, neuroscience, philosophy, economics, medicine, organizational science). However, the application of mindfulness in the field of communication is limited. With the rapid development of the Internet and new media, the study of Internet communication is growing rapidly. The Internet and new media make it easy to connect with others, explore a new world, and regard cyberspace as an extension of one’s own thoughts and personality. Nevertheless, when people use the Internet and new media mindless, they will easily experience the social effects on their virtual selves and encounter psychological problems (e.g. network morality, network anxiety, network pornography, network addiction, and cyberbullying), which has become a widespread and serious problem. As an important part of positive psychology, mindfulness intervention has been proved to help improve a series of negative psychological states and promote positive emotions and subjective well-being. However, what theoretical and practical contributions can mindfulness in the Internet and new media bring remains unknown. Thus, this Research Topic focuses on the influence and intervention of mindfulness on the psychological problems caused by the network new media communication. We welcome high-quality studies using a variety of research methods, including quantitative, qualitative, mixed methods, and reviews, on the second generation of mindfulness interventions and other meditation-based interventions (e.g., focused-attention meditation, transcendental meditation, and loving-kindness meditation). This Research Topic encourages submissions that cover but are not limited to the following topics: (1) The internet and new media-guided mindfulness and loving-kindness meditation practice (2) Mindfulness and interpersonal communication in the network (network trust, network security, network intimacy) (3) Mindfulness and network clustering behavior (4) Mindfulness and online consumer psychology (5) Mindfulness and cyber moral psychology (cyberbullying, cyber altruism, and prosocial behavior) (6) Mindfulness and online pornography (7) Mindfulness and internet addiction (8) Mindfulness and online psychological counseling (9) Mindfulness and new media anxiety