Technologies for Sharing: lessons from Quantified Self about the political economy of platforms

Barta, Kristen; Neff, Gina

doi:10.1080/1369118x.2015.1118520

Cited by 56 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…7 Fotopoulou (2014). 8 Lupton (2013) See Nafus and Sherman (2014), Lupton (2014) and Barta and Neff (2016) for detailed (ethnographic) research on the different practices, values and motives of the QSM. 12 Singer (2015).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

The transparent self

Lanzing

2016

Ethics Inf Technol

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This paper critically engages with new selftracking technologies. In particular, it focuses on a conceptual tension between the idea that disclosing personal information increases one's autonomy and the idea that informational privacy is a condition for autonomous personhood. I argue that while self-tracking may sometimes prove to be an adequate method to shed light on particular aspects of oneself and can be used to strengthen one's autonomy, self-tracking technologies often cancel out these benefits by exposing too much about oneself to an unspecified audience, thus undermining the informational privacy boundaries necessary for living an autonomous life.

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confidence: 99%

The transparent self

Lanzing

2016

Ethics Inf Technol

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“…Devices intended to allow new freedoms enact new forms of control. The growth in self‐quantification is emblematic of such self‐surveillant practices; that it is done with shared personal health data points to the otherwise little‐noticed political economy of platforms (Barta and Neff ), ambiguous valuations of metrics (Ajana ) and the market power of algorithms (Beer ). Thus, the existence, use and redesign of mHealth services are a result of social and consumer forces.…”

Section: The Sociology Of Digital Health Consumptionmentioning

confidence: 99%

On the body of the consumer: performance‐seeking with wearables and health and fitness apps

Hardey

2019

Sociology Health & Illness

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Contributing to critical digital health research and the sociology of health consumption, this study investigates the phenomenon of self-tracking and interpretation of consumer data via wearable technology and mobile fitness software applications (apps). It critically analyses qualitative data collected from members of running communities in the UK who are heavy users of apps and wearables. The study seeks to understand the meaning and practise of long-term use of apps and wearables targeted at consumers interested in tracking fitness, and the collection of personal health information over time. The paper offers an interpretative perspective on runners as performance-seeking fitness consumers engaged in long-term self-management of health. These consumers are driven by a profound motivation to visualise and embody a long-term state of fitness. Participants were also hyper-aware of advertising and promotional methods used to engage consumers. The findings raise concerns about the validity of personal fitness data, and how its collection promises improved personal health while visually promoting sought-after fit bodies. Further research is required to understand the transformative impact of fitness-tracking and how individuals negotiate personal classifications of health.

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“…From the wider social sensemaking perspectives, user communities and platforms and even cities will also feed into these interpretive processes. Sharing platforms involve political discussions around community, commercial and hierarchical values affecting their sharing, tools and methods (Barta and Neff 2016).…”

Section: Big Data the Quantified Self And Embodied Sensemakingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Integrating Social Scientific Perspectives on the Quantified Employee Self

Calvard

2019

Social Sciences

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A key technological trend in big data science is that of the quantified self, whereby individuals can self-track their health and well-being using various sources of information. The aim of this article was to integrate multidimensional views on the positive and negative implications of the quantified self for employees and workplaces. Relevant human and social scientific literature on the quantified (employee) self and self-tracking were drawn upon and organized into three main influential perspectives. Specifically, the article identified (1) psychological perspectives on quantified attitudes and behaviors, (2) sociological perspectives on sociomaterial user construction, and (3) critical theoretical perspectives on digital power and control. This article suggests that the three perspectives are complementary and can be usefully integrated into an embodied sensemaking perspective. Embodied sensemaking views the employee as a self-conscious user of big data seeking to make sense of their embeddedness in wider digital and organizational environments. This article concludes with implications for protecting employee agency in tension with employers’ big data strategies for governing and managing the performance of quantified digital employee selves.

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Technologies for Sharing: lessons from Quantified Self about the political economy of platforms

Cited by 56 publications

References 16 publications

The transparent self

The transparent self

On the body of the consumer: performance‐seeking with wearables and health and fitness apps

Integrating Social Scientific Perspectives on the Quantified Employee Self

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