Algorithmic Care and Commodified Emotions in Digital Mental Well-Being

Sena Partal

doi:10.14198/fem.30902

Autores/as

Sena Partal Independent Design Researcher, España https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9020-5397

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.14198/fem.30902

Palabras clave:

Alfabetización en bienestar mental digital, positividad performativa, trabajo emocional, emociones mercantilizadas, emodities, terapeuta por IA, tecnosolucionismo, compañía IA

Resumen

En años recientes, términos como «crisis de salud mental» y «epidemia de soledad» han evidenciado el creciente énfasis en el bienestar emocional. Esta tendencia ha sido mercantilizada a través de la cultura de autoayuda en redes sociales y la expansión de la industria del bienestar mental digital. En la actualidad, numerosas aplicaciones emplean herramientas que van desde chatbots hasta estudios de diario para analizar las emociones de los usuarios, ofreciendo recomendaciones personalizadas, meditaciones y contenidos de mindfulness. El presente artículo cuestiona la instrumentalización del contenido y la tecnología de bienestar mental digital como parte de un sistema más amplio que individualiza el malestar y reproduce expectativas generizadas sobre la regulación emocional. Se analiza cómo la psicología positiva y el mindfulness se utilizan para mercantilizar la positividad performativa, estigmatizando las emociones negativas. Este enfoque reduce nuestra capacidad para imaginar alternativas a la estructura de poder socioeconómica tradicional y distrae de las oportunidades reales de conexión y solidaridad. Finalmente, se explora cómo las tecnologías de bienestar mental digital emulan patrones históricos de sustitución de mujeres por objetos inanimados (p. ej., autómatas, algoritmos) mediante chatbots basados en IA generativa. Se argumenta que los «compañeros» de IA corren el riesgo de reforzar las normas patriarcales al mercantilizar los cuidados, y se hace un llamamiento a reimaginar un bienestar mental que priorice el cambio estructural sobre las soluciones digitales inmediatas (digital quick fixes). Este artículo de revisión del estado de la cuestión se fundamenta en una revisión crítica de la literatura sobre tecnologías de salud mental digital desde una perspectiva feminista, apoyada por el estudio de caso cualitativo del proyecto Well-being Struggle. El estudio de caso analiza el contenido de aplicaciones seleccionadas de bienestar mental digital a partir de una base de datos curada de contenidos de meditación y entrevistas a expertos realizadas en el marco del proyecto. Este enfoque permite que el artículo trascienda las cuestiones de eficacia para centrarse en un examen crítico de cómo se enmarcan las emociones y los cuidados dentro de los productos de salud mental digital y sus alternativas.

Financiación

This paper is an independent, self-funded study and has not received external funding. However, the case study referenced in this article, ‘Well-being Struggle,’ received funding from the Mozilla Foundation in 2023.

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