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

Buddhism, the Internet and Digital Media: The Pixel in the Lotus explores Buddhist practice and teachings in an increasingly networked and digital era. Contributors consider the ways Buddhism plays a role and is present in digital media through a variety of methods including concrete case studies, ethnographic research, and content analysis, as well as interviews with practitioners and cyber-communities. In addition to considering Buddhism in the context of technologies such as virtual worlds, social media, and mobile devices, authors ask how the Internet affects identity, authority and community, and what effect this might have on the development, proliferation, and perception of Buddhism in an online environment. Together, these essays make the case that studying contemporary online Buddhist practice can provide valuable insights into the shifting role religion plays in our constantly changing, mediated, hurried, and uncertain culture.

This text examines the history, theory, cultural context, and professional aspects of media and religion. While religion has been explored more fully in psychology, sociology, anthropology, and the humanities, there is no clear bridge of understanding to the communication discipline. Daniel A. Stout tackles this issue by providing a roadmap for examining this understudied area so that discussions about media and religion can more easily proceed. Offering great breadth, this text covers key concepts and historical highlights; world religions, denominations, and cultural religion; and religion and specific media genres. The text also includes key terms and questions to ponder for every chapter, and concludes with an in-class learning activity that can be used to encourage students to explore the media–religion interface and review the essential ideas presented in the book. Media and Religion is an ideal introduction for undergraduate students in need of a foundation for this emerging field.

Millennials and Media Ecology explores issues pertaining to millennials and digital media ecology and studies the cultural, pedagogical, and political environments such heterogeneous generation populates. The book questions whether millennials are properly understood as a heterogeneous group, particularly by the institutions and agencies that target them, and whether they are demonstrating the ability to set out a path for themselves and take charge of their own life and future. A diverse team of expert authors review past and current studies with critical assessment of arguments and propositions, and document actual experiences of members of the millennial generation through detailed studies. Engaging with topical subject matter and current research on millennials, the chapters: Question the misunderstanding that digital tools and Internet technologies are making the younger generation ‘dumber’ and ‘disengaging’ them from the real world Underscore the legal and economic insights into the commodification of the younger generation as consumers rather than learners Examine the historical trajectory of media technology, and whether new practices are having an empowering effect or one of enslavement to an increasingly irreversible technological and socio-political regime Shed light on issues of critical pedagogy emerging from digital environments in relation to one’s mental abilities and degrees of wisdom Discuss the cultural and political implications of millennials’ new media trends, the changing relationship between millennials and legacy media, which rely on the younger generation for survival;Offer new insights into the significance of current media trends in relation to issue of credibility and identity. This is an essential book for scholars in the fields of Media and Communications and Popular Culture, and will be vital reading for postgraduate students and specialists in related fields.

Cyber Zen ethnographically explores Buddhist practices in the online virtual world of Second Life. Does typing at a keyboard and moving avatars around the screen, however, count as real Buddhism? If authentic practices must mimic the actual world, then Second Life Buddhism does not. In fact, a critical investigation reveals that online Buddhist practices have at best only a family resemblance to canonical Asian traditions and owe much of their methods to the late twentieth-century field of cybernetics. If, however, they are judged existentially, by how they enable users to respond to the suffering generated by living in a highly mediated consumer society, then Second Life Buddhism consists of authentic spiritual practices. Cyber Zen explores how Second Life Buddhist enthusiasts form communities, identities, locations, and practices that are both products of and authentic responses to contemporary Network Consumer Society. Gregory Price Grieve illustrates that to some extent all religion has always been virtual and gives a glimpse of possible future alternative forms of religion.

Have new communications technologies revitalised the public sphere, or become the commercial tool for an increasingly un-public, undemocratic news media? Are changing journalistic practices damaging the nature of news, or are new media allowing journalists to do more journalism and to engage the public more effectively? With massive changes in the media environment and its technologies, interrogating the nature of news journalism is one of the most urgent tasks we face in defining the public interest today. The implications are serious, not just for the future of the news, but also for the practice of democracy. In a thorough empirical investigation of journalistic practices in different news contexts, New Media, Old News explores how technological, economic and social changes have reconfigured news journalism, and the consequences of these transformations for a vibrant democracy in our digital age. The result is a piercing examination of why understanding news journalism matters now more than ever. It is essential reading for students and scholars of journalism and new media.

The media that capture our attention, mold our thoughts, and shape our expressions are the invisible information environments that surround us. The "Digital Age" has forced humanity to engage in daily prolonged immersion within specific media of thought that, over time, become toxic media environments and can result in a state of mental imbalance. As a process for achieving stability, practicing media mindfulness is not about disengaging, but rather having a deeper awareness of the media environments that we are immersed in--how they engage our attention, how they affect our thoughts and behaviors and, most importantly, how we can manage them to avoid their harmful effects. Simply changing one's media environment results in a new way of attending to information and even a shift in one's behavior and thought patterns. This book explains why our media environments are often toxic, the effects they can have on our mental health, and steps we can take in order to practice mindful, balanced, and healthy engagement with media environments. The specific focus of this practice is on managing the psychological effects of all media. Readers will learn how to manage their media environments for optimal mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual health with the aid of a simple mantra: Change your behaviors and your thoughts will follow.

In Posthuman Buddhism and the Digital Self, Les Roberts extends his earlier work on spatial anthropology to consider questions of time, spaciousness and the phenomenology of self. Across the book’s four main chapters – which range from David Bowie’s long-standing interest in Buddhism, to street photography of 1980s Liverpool, to the ambient soundscapes of Derek Jarman’s Blue, or to the slow, contemplative cinema of Tsai Ming-Liang – Roberts lays the groundwork for the concept of ‘dwellspace’ as a means by which to unpick the shifting spatial, temporal and experiential modalities of everyday mediascapes. Understood as a particular disposition towards time, Roberts’s foray into dwellspace proceeds from a Pascalian reflection on the self/non-self in which being content in an empty room vies with the demands of having content in an empty room. Taking the idea of posthuman Buddhism as a heuristic lens, Roberts sets in motion a number of interrelated lines of enquiry that prompt renewed focus on questions of boredom, distraction and reverie and cast into sharper relief the psychosocial and creative affordances of ambience, spaciousness and slowness. The book argues that the colonisation of ‘empty time’ by 24/7 digital capitalism has gone hand-in-hand with the growth of the corporate mindfulness industry, and with it, the co-option, commodification and digitisation of dwellspace. Posthuman Buddhism is thus in part an exploration of the dialectics of dwellspace that orbits around a creative self-praxis rooted in the negation and dissolution of the self, one of the foundational cornerstones of Buddhist theory and practice.

Does genetic engineering have the potential to be as dangerous a nuclear holocaust? Will playing games online lead to brain shrinkage? These and other environmental and moral dilemmas of the modern world are discussed in a collection of essays which use Buddhist texts and academic resources to analyze problems in today’s world. Topics include pollution, animal cruelty, genetically modified foods, and our addictions to digital and social media. Dr. Epstein describes how outer environmental and social problems mirror humanity’s inner struggle with selfishness, greed, and desire. By connecting Buddhist concepts such as compassion, causation, and moral precepts to these issues, this collection of essays provides guidance to for ethical conduct in today’s world.

Emerging new technologies such as digital media have helped artists to position art into the everyday lives and activities of the public. These new virtual spaces allow artists to utilize a more participatory experience with their audience. Digital Media and Technologies for Virtual Artistic Spaces brings together a variety of artistic practices in virtual spaces and the interest in variable media and online platforms for creative interplay. Presenting frameworks and examples of current practices, this book is useful for artists, theorists, curators as well as researchers working with new technologies, social media platforms and digital culture.