Life after Fitbit: Appealing to those who feel guilty vs. free

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2021-07-16 16:00:09

Personal tracking tools -- technologies that meticulously count our daily steps, map our runs, account for each purchase - fall in and out of favor in users' lives. People abandon self-tracking for different reasons, University of Washington researchers have found. Some don't like what their Fitbit or financial tracking tools reveal, others find collecting data a hassle, don't quite know how to use the information or simply learn what they need to know about their habits and move on.

"We got curious about what it's like for people after they stop using self-tracking tools," said Sean Munson, a UW assistant professor of human centered design and engineering. "Do they feel great, do they feel guilty, do they feel like they've gotten everything they need?"

In research presented earlier this year that surveyed 193 people who had abandoned personal informatics tracking, the team found many people experienced no real difference in their lives. Other emotions, however, ranged from guilt over not being able to keep it up to relief from the tyranny of self-tracking.