“Craze.”
I have found that this word is used time after time by bloggers, Youtubers, and writers alike when discussing the self-tracking trend that so many people have adopted into their everyday lives during recent years. Countless self-tracking methods and accessories exist in the market, including Fitbit, Jawbone, Apple Watch, and even personal smartphones have built in fitness trackers added to them.
In addition to nearly every member of my family (both parents and sister), I fell victim to the self-tracking craze that comes with wearing a fitness band. Not only did the bracelet become an informative data method that provided me with the amount of movement I would participate in every day, but it also told me exactly the amount of calories I had burned and consumed based on the diet information that I religiously submitted. I found myself constantly refreshing the application that was conveniently synced to my cellphone. I came to the point where I became anxious about meals for which I was unable to access precise caloric information, for lack of the ability to have an “accurate” day logged. If I did not reach my “step goal,” I was not able to relax or sleep soundly at night. Further, I have found that with the culture of self-tracking comes a type of attitude or reputation of strength. However, this strength stems from the discipline and restrain that comes from over-regulating one’s own physical exertion and food consumption. Also, I have come to determine that self-tracking does not promote a sense of content or happiness with one’s self in the present. By this, I mean that there is largely a theme of “goals” involving weight loss, fewer calories eaten, and more steps taken. There exists an attitude of “Awesome! You lost five pounds. Now shoot for only three more. You can do it!” This provides a contrasting element and false sense of support to an already stressful lifestyle. I remember my fitness bracelet buzzing and alerting me to “Get moving!” or my phone sounding and telling me “Hey, you took even more steps than yesterday! Keep the trend going for the rest of this week.” While this type of coaching may work for some, for me (and I know for others), it feels it draining. I truly felt as though my goals of ideal beauty and perfection through fitness were unattainable in the long run. In “Self-tracking in the Digital Era: Biopower, Patriarchy, and the New Biometric Body Projects,” Rachel Sanders mentions this type of scrutiny that people are often subject to on their own accounts, discussing how these devices “compel [people] to internalize the watchful gaze, or to turn it upon themselves” (46).
While this technological revolution is one with many benefits, and while I absolutely support healthy living (for whatever that means for each individual), I think that the culture of self-tracking is one that sadly encourages obsessive behavior and can potentially lead to eating disorders. The Buzzfeed video that I have attached is one that I came across this week, and while it neither mentions nor shows a self-tracking device in the video, the woman who is portrayed with an eating disorder is seen logging her exact calorie intake and burn on a notepad before going to meet an old friend for dinner. The woman, who is ultimately is struck by the unplanned alcohol and french fries that she is expected to eat with her friend, is never able to truly relax at the dinner because of the various emotions that flood her mind, including guilt and self-disgust. The video offers an intimate look into the life of someone who constantly struggles with the hardships that come along with battling an eating disorder. This is exactly the type of behavior that often ensues in the self-tracking world. She herself tracks and monitors her diet and exercise to a frightening precision – the exact level of precision that fitness accessories provide.
The Geopolitics of Beauty 5 
March 29, 2017 at 4:06 pm
I definitely find it interesting that this tracking craze enforces ideas about self control and self discipline. In your blog post you talked about finding yourself feeling uneasy about eating something that didn’t have caloric information or feeling anxious to meet your daily numeric goals. This strict discipline reminds me of Bordo’s piece in which she likens diseases such as anorexia with control. I find it very interesting that the sense of power one gets when they deprive themselves or discipline themselves by adhering to strict numeric goals is what ultimately perpetuates unhealthy habits.
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April 12, 2017 at 6:11 pm
I completely agree with what you are saying. People often look over the fact that these “health” apps can contribute to very unhealthy obsessive behaviors and can result in the user becoming more unhealthy. I tried using the iPhone app “My Fitness Pal” a few years ago with my friend as an attempt to lose some weight for the summer season. We didn’t lose any weight as the anxiety that the app caused us to just want to eat more. Once you see that you have already gone past the limit for the day, the mentality easily becomes “I’ve failed by already eating too much sodium/fat/sugar, might as well just keep going.” It is concerning that we are allowing soulless technology dictate how we should be moving and operating our real human forms.
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April 23, 2017 at 7:01 pm
I completely agree with the points made in your post – and I understand how the nature of a Fibit or other tracking devices may lead to this feeling of “unattainable goals”. However, I think there is another side to this goal oriented device, which I experienced first hand. I think the constant pushing for more and more steps – and less and less calories can be addictive. I could not handle the feeling of not living up to the standard set, so I was constantly pushing myself to achieve these new goals each day. However soon, I found myself trying to surpass the goals set by the fitness tracker, because just meeting them wasn’t satisfying enough. When they are health oriented goals, such as having activity in your day or cutting out a lot of fat, this can be beneficial. However often times the Fitbit leaves out the tracking of a lot of things. I would take 4 hours of dance which burns about 600 calories (or more), and because that did not count as “steps”, I would push myself to still go to the gym and run every day. On top of this, I was attempting to eat “x amount” of calories based off of how much I burned from walking, which the Fitbit tracked. Because the calories from my dance classes were never tracked, I was often eating far less than I needed to fuel my body. This lead to a consistent cycle of me being exhausted, but feeling the need to push more and more each day. I felt that if Fitbit was setting that standard, it certainly must be attainable – and if others could do it then I must push myself. I think depending on your personality type, this device can either be discouraging with its constantly changing goals, or it can be addictive – neither of which are particularly healthy.
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April 26, 2017 at 3:19 pm
Technology has become a toxic factor in our social lives, as individuals obsess over social media and the latest phone upgrades. Through this understanding, it appears that technology is only hindering societal productivity and making the smartphone an automatic attachment to all humans. However, this attachment of technology can have a positive effect. While self-tracking may lead to an unhealthy obsession with health, this technology ultimately serves to improve bodies. When one chooses to purchase these apps/devices, it’s essential that he or she understand the purpose of the app/device, which is to help one have an idea of how much they’ve consumed or exercised within a day, week, or month. The aim is not to enable this technology to become the sole determining factor of healthy living. If one does not reach 10,000 steps one day, it’s not indicative of unhealthy living. This technology is to merely let individuals be aware of what their lifestyles are like, how active they are, and areas they can improve in. For example, Fitbit suggests that humans should ideally walk 10,000 steps per day. Perhaps someone walks around 7,000 on average by walking to work, being on their feet all day at work, and running errands. Knowing this could help that individual determine one more activity (such as running) to do to have a slightly healthier lifestyle. The goal is not to strictly reach 10,000, but get closer to a healthy lifestyle.
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May 7, 2017 at 11:28 pm
It is both interesting and apt that you linked self-tracking technology and disordered eating and exercise behaviors. As you wrote, the obsessive self-monitoring, self-loathing and anxiety that these fitness devices inspire are not dissimilar to the symptoms of eating disorders. I think this brings up an important question: when do we decide the “healthy” behaviors that are typically rewarded have become unhealthy and abnormal? The question reminds me of something a friend told me once, “If a thin person is obsessively losing weight, they have an eating disorder; if a fat person is obsessively losing weight, they are a success story.” I think that this really points to the link between beauty, health and acceptability. We allow a person to engage in these behaviors until they become too thin to be beautiful; it is then that we recognize they have an unhealthy disorder. Yet if someone is not deemed traditionally beautiful because of their weight, these behaviors are not only accepted but encouraged. Because beauty and health are so inextricably linked in our shared understanding, this pursuit of beauty is seen as a pursuit of health, even if it is having very unhealthy effects on the person’s mental health. Again, when do we decide that the pursuit of thinness, which we have been indoctrinated to believe is all-important, has become unhealthy and unacceptable?
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