IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - Winter 2013 - 25
COMMENTARY
INTEL FREE PRESS/WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
DEBORAH LUPTON
Understanding the Human Machine
T
he concepts of "self-tracking" and "the quantified self" have recently begun to emerge in
discussions of how best to optimize one's
life. These concepts refer to the practice of
gathering data about oneself on a regular basis and then
recording and analyzing the data to produce statistics
and other data (such as images) relating to one's bodily
functions and everyday habits. Some self-trackers collect data on only one or two dimensions of their lives,
and only for a short time. Others may do so for hundreds of phenomena and for long periods.
The tracking and analysis of aspects of one's self
and one's body are not new practices. People have
been recording their habits and health-related metrics
for centuries as part of attempts at self-reflection and
self-improvement. What is indisputably new is the
term "the quantified self" and its associated movement, which includes a dedicated website with that
title, and regular meetings and conferences, as well as
the novel ways of self-tracking using digital technologies that have developed in recent years. A growing
range of digital devices with associated apps are now
available for self-tracking [1]. Many of these devices
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MTS.2013.2286431
Date of publication: 9 December 2013
IEEE TECHNOLOGY AND SOCIETY MAGAZINE
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WINTER 2013
can be worn on or close to the body to measure elements of the user's everyday life and activities and
produce data that can be recorded and monitored
by the user. They include not only digital cameras,
smartphones, tablet computers, watches, wireless
weight scales, and blood pressure monitors, but also
wearable bands or patches, clip-on devices and jewelry with embedded sensors able to measure bodily
functions or movement and upload data wirelessly.
In many of these devices global positioning devices,
gyroscopes, altimeters, and accelerometers provide
spatial location and quantify movement. These technologies allow self-trackers to collect data on their moods,
diet, dreams, social encounters, posture, sexual activity,
blood chemistry, heart rate, body temperature, exercise
patterns, brain function, alcohol, coffee and tobacco
consumption, and many other variables.
Emergence and Rise of the Quantified Self
The term "quantified self" was generated when the
Quantified Self movement was first developed in 2007
by two Wired Magazine editors, Gary Wolf and Kevin
Kelly. Wolf and Kelly set up a website devoted to the
movement in 2008. Interest in the concept and the associated movement has developed rapidly from there.
According to the Quantified Self website there are now
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