july

I have beef with the idea of health trackers. And I’m trying to figure out why that’s the case recently, and I have arrived at a tentative conclusion.

There’s something subversive about health apps, because it kind of tells you how you should live your life. They’re sort of a philosophical undertone about what constitutes a healthy life to begin with. And it’s implicit in the contract of choosing to participate in all of this.

The value proposition is seemingly good initially; this is something that will help you live longer, be more healthy and be more productive and be a better person. Right? And who doesn’t want that?

Yet I think the thing that underlies all that - is an idea of gamification with the intent, that you need to be healthy, in order to be productive. And a sort subtle shaming, quantification of optimization of you at all costs. Reducing who you are into a health game that should be optimized. A slippery slope

And for what?

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