Calm’s new Story-like mindfulness exercises offer an alternative to social media

Calm is rolling out a suite of new features to make it easier for people to fit mindfulness into their lives. Most notably, the app is launching “Taptivities,” which are interactive text-based stories that take a minute or two to complete. The app is also adding Playlists and personalized search.

While users tend to spend endless time tapping through Instagram Stories or swiping through TikTok videos, Calm wants to encourage users to meditate using the same sort of format. With Taptivities, users can get bite-sized mindfulness sessions that they tap through, similar to Stories on other apps. The sessions touch on themes like gratitude, self-reflection, grounding, and deep breathing. 

Calm says that the next time you find yourself aimlessly scrolling through social media to decompress, you should try a Taptivity instead. 

The sessions could encourage you to do things like reflect on the emotions you’re feeling, take a break from your thoughts with focused counting, or take a moment to think about someone you love.

With the launch of Playlists, Calm users can now mix and match content from across the app together. For instance, when you finish a Sleep Story, you won’t have to search for music to help you stay asleep. You can instead string together meditations, Sleep Stories, and music in whichever order you want. Calm says this sort of functionality was the most requested feature from its users. 

In addition, Calm is introducing a personalized search feature that uses each person’s specific preferences and listening history to surface more accurate recommendations. Users can also refine their searches more using Calm’s new category and time filters. Calm acknowledges that search in the app hasn’t been great, which is why it’s overhauling it to help users find what they need.

Alongside these changes, Calm is expanding its content library and now has more than 500 Sleep Stories, with some narrated by big names like Kevin Bacon, Harry Styles, and Camila Cabello. Calm says Sleep Stories continue to grow in popularity with 19 billion minutes listened to since its launch.