Exploring the impact of commercial wearable activity trackers on body awareness and body representations: A mixed-methods study on self-tracking

Wearable trackers are believed to enhance users' self-knowledge, but their impact on the relationship that people have with their own bodies is relatively unexplored. This study aims to shed light on the potential of physiological data collected by a commercial wearable activity tracker to influence how users relate with their own bodies, specifically their body awareness, body image, body consciousness, and body surveillance. Additionally, the study seeks to determine whether this change in body perception improves or worsens the users' relation with their own bodies. We recruited 321 first-time wearable users, including a control group. Participants in the experimental group (N = 225) completed a set of scales and questionnaires addressing body awareness and representations before and after wearing a Fitbit for four months, and 20 of them were further interviewed about their experience. The findings indicate that participants' overall view of their bodies was not influenced by the device. However, the Fitbit did increase the awareness of bodily sensations, particularly for women. Moreover, we describe how participants made sense of the data displayed by the Fitbit, which was also used as an emotionregulation tool. These results can contribute to the understanding of the impact of self-tracking technologies on the users' perceptions of their own body and provide insights for future research in this field.

Automated summary

This study examines the potential impact of a commercial wearable activity tracker on users' relationship with their bodies, finding that the device did not influence participants' overall perception of their bodies but increased their bodily sensations, particularly in women.