Abstract
This paper contextualises developments in media art and electronic visualisation with the ‘Consciousness Hacking’ movement, and the potential for technology to improve psychological, emotional and spiritual wellbeing. The narrow focus of attention demanded by many contemporary media devices, such as smart phones and some immersive technologies, may be harmful to cognitive functioning and emotion regulation. These technologies are arguably a distraction that diminishes our natural capacity for rich sensory experience. Conversely, artists and researchers have experimented with new media in an attempt to challenge and engage our sensory experience, in order to re-connect us to nature. Trials comparing simulated natural environments with actual nature are reviewed within the context of their potential to restore attention. Do multi-sensory media artworks and visualisations re-connect us with the natural world, or remove us further from it? The potential benefits of technology are assessed as a tool for ecotherapy in mediated environments and for new models of mental healthcare and wellbeing. Comparison is made between ‘Cyberdelics’ virtual applications, which may narrow or distract the focus of attention, and works using more natural systems, which engage with the periphery and interconnectedness of the senses. The interventions are assessed in their efficacy to affect change in psychological and physiological states, and as a non-pharmacological enhancement with therapeutic applications. Transformation and healing is possible when media art and technology are created and disseminated with mindful intention.
Highlights
The effects of technology, social media, on human health and wellbeing are currently being rigorously debated at both an academic and political level
The narrow focus of attention demanded by many contemporary media devices, such as smart phones and some immersive technologies, may be harmful to cognitive functioning, emotion regulation and visual perception, (Lim 2017; Wilmer, Sherman & Chein,2017), as well as musculoskeletal and metabolic systems (Laatar 2017)
In recent years the ‘Consciousness Hacking’ movement has emerged as a global community focused on exploring, designing, and using technologies which facilitate individual and collective awakening, in the belief that modern technology driven by science has the potential to support psychological, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing (Siegel & Gwyn 2016)
Summary
The effects of technology, social media, on human health and wellbeing are currently being rigorously debated at both an academic and political level. There is already a growing body of evidence to support the effects of arts and cultural engagement on health and wellbeing, and how the arts can improve healthcare environments. There is significant evidence that exposure to natural environments is associated with mental health benefits. The focus and scope of this paper is to explore the evidence for how and whether developments in media art and electronic visualisation support mental health and wellbeing, and in particular the extent to which art and technology can re-connect the link between mind, body and the natural world. Natural environments benefit from what Rachel and Stephen Kaplan termed soft fascination, which refers to scene content that automatically captures attention while simultaneously eliciting feelings of pleasure. Do people need to physically interact with nature, or can they receive the apparent health benefits through passive exposure?
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