Career: individualized and organizational solutions to the globalized risk of mental illness

The National Science Foundation (NSF) awarded a Project Grant of $327,885.00 to Davidson College under the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (CFDA 47.075) program. This 5-year CAREER project, effective June 1, 2025, will study the efficacy of various mindfulness activities, both online and offline, to uncover how the attention economy mediates efforts to mitigate the global risk of mental illness using mindfulness. The mixed-methods research will include sentiment analysis of online mindfulness interactions, surveys of users of on- and offline mindfulness resources, interviews with mindfulness organizations, and content analysis of organizational materials. The project aims to evaluate inconsistencies produced by digital mindfulness activities and organizations due to monetization in the digital media economy. The research findings will be of interest to digital media researchers, mental health experts, sociologists, mindfulness communities and organizations, and the broader public.

Abstract

This career project is a study of the efficacy of a variety of mindfulness activities in comparative perspective. IT examines online and offline ?mindfulness? Activities, spaces, and technology, to uncover how the attention economy mediates efforts to mitigate the global risk of mental illness using mindfulness. Researchers compare such activities and spaces/technology online and offline, efforts by organizations in the mindfulness enterprise, and across two distinct contexts. The educational component integrates the research into a comprehensive instructional program that includes undergraduate students. Key broader impacts of the project are the timeliness of the topic, expertise that the PI brings to the project, and the potential for the project to contribute to undergraduate education. This career project evaluates inconsistencies produced by digital mindfulness activities and organizations due to the nature of monetization in the digital media economy. The research explores the different uses and impacts of on- and offline mindfulness resources through a mixed-methods study including, (1) sentiment analysis on online interactions in mindfulness spaces, (2) surveys of people using on- and offline resources in two case study regions, (3) in-depth interviews with personnel in mindfulness organizations, and (4) content analysis of organizational material. Research findings will be of interest to digital media researchers, mental health experts, sociologists of technology and mental health, mindfulness communities and organizations, and the broader public that participates in mindfulness activities. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.- subawards are not planned for this award.