The number of people using meditation apps has dropped significantly over the last year, and for a very good reason.
If you go back two years to 2020, you’ll see meditation apps taking the world by storm. The pandemic and isolation heavily increased stress rates, and everyone wanted an affordable solution. Meditation apps promised an easy and cheap way to stop stress. And so, millions of people started using Headspace, Calm, and similar meditation apps on their iphones and Android devices.
2020 was the year that meditation apps took the world by storm. And this despite the fact that apps actually dont work.
I’ve said many times that I believe app developers like Andy Pudicombe (Headspace) are bastardising meditation as a way to make money. But regardless, meditation apps became incredibly popular.
That is, until today.
It appears that the sun might be setting on meditation apps. The market is in decline. Indeed, The Verge reports that “The number of sessions on the Calm app fell 26.4 percent between July 2021 and July 2022. It was worse for Headspace, which had a 60.3 percent drop over the same time period.”
Why?
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Why Meditation App Usage Is In Decline
So why, exactly, are people uninstalling meditation apps? Actually, there are many possible reasons.
For starters, at the time when Headspace and Calm started to get popular, there weren’t exactly a lot of alternatives. Meditation apps were the beginning of the Plug N Play Therapy. But today, there are many more alternative mental health apps. For instance, there are apps like Amaha, Wysa, MindDoc and more on the Play Store.
So, increased competition could be one reason for the decline in meditation app usage.
Then again, perhaps we are all just less stressed. Isolation is over and the pains of 2020 and 2021 have largely subsided. So are we all feeling better? Do we simply not need meditation apps anymore? Well, not according to the American Psychological Association, which states that the war and the rising cost of living are causing “alarming levels” of stress.
And finally, maybe everyone is at last realising that meditation apps are not good, not safe, and not worth it. And that silent meditation is better than guided.
Whatever the reason, meditation app usage is in decline. And I’m curious to see whether this is just a temporary ‘blip’ or something more.
Paul Harrison BSc is a qualified meditation teacher who believes in genuine, authentic meditation. He has more than 15 years experience in teaching meditation and mindfulness both to individuals and to corporations and is the author of four books on meditation. He has been featured in Psychology Today, Breathe Magazine, Healthline, Psych Central and Lion’s Roar.
Paul studied meditation in beautiful Oxford, UK, and Hamilton Ontario Canada, and earned his degree at Staffordshire University.
Paul’s biggest inspirations include Thich Nhat Hanh, Jon Kabat Zinn, and Jack Kornfield.
“My goal is to provide the most authentic meditation sessions so you can harness the power of your own mind for personal transformation” – Paul Harrison