Date of Award
1-2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
MA - Master of Arts
Department
Mindfulness Studies
First Advisor
Yasemin Isler
Second Advisor
Cacky Mellor
Abstract
The rapid expansion of mindfulness applications raises important questions about their authenticity. A central concern is whether these digital interventions are primarily motivated by genuine mindfulness education or by commercial interests seeking to maximize commercial metrics. This thesis addresses this issue by comprehensively assessing these applications against established ethical and educational standards. The study introduces the Alaya conceptual model, a novel evaluative framework that adapts the six domains of the MBI:TAC and incorporates two additional domains focused on commercial integrity, governance, and ethics. The Alaya framework utilizes a deterministic scoring mechanism to evaluate the integrity of digital applications, specifically their adherence to mindfulness principles, transparency, and user data protection. The findings offer critical transparency for users and establish a benchmark for developers to ensure that digital delivery methods align with the fundamental, non-commercial principles of mindfulness.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 License.
Language
English
Recommended Citation
Yencer, Jeremy T., "The Real Truth About Popular Mindfulness Apps: Mindfulness or Market Share?" (2026). Mindfulness Studies Theses. 111.
https://digitalcommons.lesley.edu/mindfulness_theses/111
