Whether its your Fitbit, your Apple Smart Watch or your Strava app there are numerous ways you can track your health info digitally.
There’s no doubt these devices have massive benefits for people’s physical health, but new research has determined they may not be so good for people’s mental health.
Researchers in Belgium have found that users often develop compulsive behaviour and over-engage with the devices. In other words, they get a bit obsessed with them.
We’ve all met people like it, always striving to better their previous record – whether that’s advisable or not. And I guess we all like to see improvement, but what about when it becomes too much?
Lisa Baiwir, a PhD candidate at the University of Liege, told The New Daily health technologies are becoming more integrated into people’s daily lives and that device and app designers need to take this into account.
“It’s crucial to understand the factors that lead to over-engagement and ill-being,” she says.
“Designers of health apps can mitigate these risks.”
But really, how much of this is the device manufacturer or app designers’ fault? People will obsess over anything and virtually any behaviour can become addictive if you can’t control yourself.
What do you think?
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