The Quantified Other
Like many of my classmates, I stumbled upon an app called S Health—which was included with the purchase of my new smartphone at the time—a few years ago. I was somewhat of a running fanatic once upon a time, so I was initially very excited to use this app as an excuse to get myself back into the game. A few good years of use, hundreds of miles logged, a frustrating software interface change, and drastic increase in workload upon coming back to school later, and I’ve since deleted it from my phone, so everything that follows will essentially be a recount.
I initially decided to give the app a try because I wanted a simple, straightforward way to keep up with my running metrics, such as pace and miles covered. In addition, I liked that I could measure my heart rate and do some rudimentary, baseline fitness maintenance. I got all of these things in S Health. I found the app to be only mildly intrusive at first as it only asked for basic numbers such as age, height, weight, etc. Other than that, the only intended data input was contingent upon the exercise itself. At the height of my usage, I don’t recall the app requesting any superfluous information, which is good.
As far as the app’s future, I can only assume that it’s gotten more complicated and thorough, which to me is indicative of the direction in which it—and most technologies for that matter—is ultimately headed. Though the idealist in me wants to believe that it is only becoming more in-depth for the betterment of users, the critic in me leans otherwise. Though current statutes such as HIPAA do a pretty swell job of keeping health and privacy separate from other entities, there are still far too many interests out there that stand to benefit monetarily from the sort of data accrued from devices such as fitness trackers. Insurance providers and pharmaceutical companies are two of the largest players in our economy, and I would not be surprised if they are finding ways in which to get their hands on the right data. I’ve often wondered if compiled personal data could drive the cost of premiums and co-pays in the economic climate moving forward, which really raises the core question: in using these media, are we looking after the interests of ourselves, or those of others? Might someone be labeled “at-risk” and charged more based off a string of bad heart rates registered? I hope not, but only time will tell.
Personally, I’ve never published any of my S Health information on social media, and that’s probably for the best. Some people probably relish the competitive high or ego boost from the comparing tracking metrics on social media, but that’s just not for me. I feel as though it is more genuinely satisfying to keep such information limited in regards to who views it. After all, it is “the quantified self“.
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I agree with your last paragraph. It is much more satisfying to know that you personally have achieved a goal rather than show off on social media about it. Also, if you don’t post about things you’ve accomplished on social media, nobody can hold you accountable or call you out if you slip up on your goal or fail to reach it.
Definitely a scary thought about how somebody could be declared “at-risk” due to self-inputted heart rate stats and charged differently because of that. I also concur with not posting fitness progress on social media! I think some people find it advantageous to hear the encouragement from their peers online, but I would rather keep my personal goals private.
Some people just go over the top sharing things on Facebook to the point that it becomes ridiculous. So I agree with you in that I definitely think I can go without sharing my health and workout information on social media. The level of competition that exists in the cycling classes I’ve been to is enough for me. Some people just like to brag I guess. But, like JJ discussed in class today, we don’t know what our kids will be sharing in their future generation and it will definitely be even more than people share today.
There are definitely scary aspects to quantifying yourself, as we talked about in class, like privacy. I am very pro-contributing to big data, though. I do think that people who contribute data to apps or stores or anything, are kind of forced to be less private. I’m a super open book, but I have friends who aren’t, yet still use apps like fitbit AND they post things to facebook! For instance, I have a friend who is losing weight and she’s posting her weight loss weekly or something. This forced her to acknowledge to a large group of people, not only her goals, but also her weight amount that she’s lost, which I find a little uncomfortable. Anyway, privacy is certainly something that has many facets when it comes to the QS! Great post!