Technology that counts the steps you take, measures your heartbeat, or beeps when you’ve sat down for too long. Is this supportive technology really helping us?
Feedback
Health-trackers like the Fitbit, Garmin fitness watch, Oura ring, and certain features on your Apple watch are supportive technologies meant to help you become a healthier version of you. In eHealth, such devices are often aimed at (future) patients of cardiovascular disease or diabetes type 2. Also known as “lifestyle diseases,” they are greatly influenced by our own behaviour. The support of the technology is based on measuring something and providing these metrics as feedback that we did not have before. It gives us insight into our own behaviour. We can see where we started, where we are now, and how close we are to a goal that we ourselves have set. These are three essential points of feedback we need to experience a sense of progress. Through technology we are better supporting ourselves.
…continue reading at Elektor