DC 3209: Fitness and Quantification of the Self

The quantification of the self is proliferated through social desire to share with others information about their physical activities and biodata. It is evident that the quantified self phenomenon and self-tracking culture are bringing about new possibilities to promote a sense of self-awareness and an autonomous approach to health management. However, the use of apps, devices and platforms which enable dataveillance become more and more embedded in our daily lives and activities. Such developments can lead to advancements in medicine and research. 

A community of individuals who engage in the quantification of the self are allied through a company called Quantified Self Labs. In 2016, the global movement had over 70,000 members.  QSI was set up as a “multidisciplinary network organisation, gathering knowledge about personalised health, generating new knowledge about self- tracking through applied scientific research and translating all this to education and entrepreneurship”. The data that is collected through quantified self-tracking is then used for research, stimulating innovations in healthcare. 

            Such healthcare tracking models also bring to light the importance of ‘Big Data’ generated through personal use of digital self-tracking devices. The Quantified Self movement relates to the use of wearable digital devices and sensing technology which collect data about a user’s everyday activities, and in the hands of medical researchers and professionals, algorithms could be produced which will be able to detect that certain physical activity patterns may be suggestive of certain medical conditions. Other data analytics tools will also emerge and will reveal how physical activity data may correlate with clinical outcomes for certain conditions. I think we may still be a few years away, because we need a critical mass of users to generate all this data, along with a group of motivated researchers who are willing to dig into all the activity trends and graphs. I believe we will see that in the next decade and will find ourselves in a new era where patient-generated big data will yield clinically meaningful information. The data and analytics need to connect with clinical endeavours to be translated into knowledge and actionable information.

A transformation is currently taking place in the way we interpret our health. Yesterday, we asked our doctors, but today we ask our data. Advancements in technology make it easy to collect data from our bodies, through which we are able to interpret the state of our health. Our personal tech can track every step we take, every beat our heart makes.  The quantified self refers to the cultural phenomenon of self-tracking with technology and to a community of users and makers of self-tracking apps and software which merges technology and data acquisition into daily life. The term embodies self-knowledge through tracking. Once the data is collected, it is analyzed for meaning in order to gain insight into the user’s health. The user then draws conclusions and makes efforts to optimize their health, and continue to monitor the data to see it reflect optimal situations, which creates a “feedback loop”. Getting feedback on physical behaviour helps to become conscious of behaviours .In this way, the self is quantified, and this data that is collected influences our daily decisions. 

A benefit of adopting the technology is the gamification aspect of it all. Fitness apps help stimulate healthier life choices which prevent chronic illnesses such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. It makes making health positive decisions more fun and enjoyable, and when progress occurs, the app stimulates dopamine in the same way social media apps are designed to. Gamifying exercise can improve motivation and make fitness more effective at all levels. The achievement system that many fitness quantifying apps include makes exercise easier to engage in and stay loyal to. The gamification aspect of health and fitness apps represent a very promising, burgeoning market and landscape in which to disseminate health behavior change interventions.

The gamification of health and fitness can lead to a new type of active entertainment, similar to virtual reality, but in which the user is actively influencing the narrative. In apps, there are certain goals set out for the user, and it is up to the user’s initiative and determination to achieve the goals set out by the app. However, it is different than regular games due to the reason that it influences our daily lives, and contributes to a user’s overall health.

The quantified self, as explained by Virtuagym is: “self-knowledge through self-tracking. By measuring a variety of data about your personal life, you can identify patterns in your life. These patterns can be used to adjust and improve daily activities to accommodate a healthier lifestyle. It works on four levels: Input, Physical Health, Mental Health, and Performance”. Essentially, wearable technologies enable us to log information about our lives and lifestyles, making it easier for us to see the trends we are progressing in, good or bad. While this is an efficient and effective way for people to keep track of their activities, wearable digital technologies benefit companies and businesses as well. People who wear FitBits, Apple watches, or other forms of technology that are designed to store and measure personal data are often sharing this information with the company who created the product. This company, depending on their terms and conditions, may have the right to sell your data to other businesses who are aiming to target specific demographics. Your personal information, which, depending on the technology you use, can range from current weight, age, and blood pressure to more in depth data, like when you wake up, when you leave home or go to work. This portfolio is stored on a database where your statistics and engagements are reduced to simple numbers that can be sold to other businesses. 

A business that would benefit greatly from this data are health clubs and gyms. Virtuagym states that: ”A lot of health clubs work with self-management: their members go in, do their workouts, and go. By offering branded fitness apps and even by controlling the sales of wearables, gyms can create new revenue streams with both new and existing members, while simultaneously improving the quality of their services. Furthermore, these apps and wearables can function as the missing link between your members’ daily lives and your club. Extending your service beyond your club will have a positive effect on member loyalty, and lifetime value”. The idea that a member’s experience at a gym would be positively affected by the use of fitness apps and wearables is one that makes sense, but the overall lack of privacy is a risk that people should consider. When the company has access to your activities while you are at the gym and also while you are not, it means they are exercising, on some level, a type of dataveillance. They are surveilling the data being continuously logged onto your wearable technology, which is oftentimes more in-depth than users realize. If the gym notices that a large majority of their members are logging unhealthy foods into their apps, they may be able to sell this information to companies that specialize in health foods or drinks. This, in turn, may peak the interest of these companies who will then pay the gym for advertising space in an environment where they know they have access to a vulnerable target audience.

Social media has become the breeding ground for self-esteem issues in adolescents today. Instagram, a photo and video sharing app, is a platform that rewards users in the form of Likes and Followers based on the content they produce. In recent years, Instagram has moved from being a place for friends and family to share big events in their lives to being a portfolio of pictures for models and aspiring models. Due to the unrealistic (i.e., unachievable for many people) portrayal of bodies on the app, many users have resorted to photo editing to make their features more similar to the models and influencers on the app. However, many famous Instagram influencers admit to photoshopping, too, as they feel increasingly more pressure to look a certain way. Famous Youtuber and social media influencer Tana Mongeau has been repeatedly called out and caught for editing red carpet photos before posting them onto her social media. While she acknowledges that she retouches her pictures, she continues to post heavily edited photos for her young audience to see. It sends a very damaging message to the fans who look up to and idolize Tana, as she repeatedly announces to her followers that she is unhappy with the way she looks. Instagram makes the intangible value and worth of a user quantifiable by their number of likes, followers and comments. Essentially, the platform reduces users’ entire being into a shallow, two-dimensional portrayal of themselves and their lives. 

Girls experience a drop in self-esteem and display depressive symptoms at a rate twice as high as boys during their teenage years (Wichstrom 1999). Puberty is a transition that is already difficult for most girls because of mainstream media’s unrealistic portrayal of women. Instagram only amplifies this issue by rewarding ‘Instagram models’ with verification symbols and unique partnership opportunities, highlighting the importance of outer beauty in the job market. Additionally, the social networking app has an “Explore” feature that introduces popular users similar to the accounts a user is already following. By rewarding a certain appearance, Instagram’s algorithm magnifies the insecurities of young girls (and boys) and ultimately contributes to a mental health epidemic among adolescents on the platform. 

The good news is that many users use their Instagram accounts to contribute to a new wave and movement of body positivity in digital spaces. The Victoria’s Secret fashion show has been cancelled this year because of the CEO’s transphobic and degrading comments on women’s bodies. A famous beauty Influencer, Nikita Dragun, took to Instagram to post her own version of the show, starring herself, a trans woman with a body not conventionally portrayed on the runway. This post gained a lot of attention and support, showing many other users on the platform that it is okay to go against the beauty standards set by influencers on Instagram. 

References

Wichstrom, L. 1999.  “The Emergence of Gender Difference in Depressed Mood During 

Adolescence: the Role of Intensified Gender Socialization.” Developmental Psychology 35: 232-245.