This digitization is taking place against a backdrop of global proliferation of self-quantification tools that are used to track calories consumed, levels of blood sugar, and weight. They also monitor sleep regulation.
This market is profitable and competitive. According to Pekka Mertala and Lauri Pala, Finnish researchers, the digital sports tech business is worth an estimated $12 billion per year. There are more than 10,000 digital portable devices just for running. About 90 percent of amateur runners use a mobile app or smartwatch.
The concept of empowerment is closely associated with tracking your body using numbers. It’s a way to fulfill promises of becoming more active, healthy, and happy. This knowledge is valued for its objectivity and transparency compared to the approximate nature of bodily sensations.
These embedded devices can also be used to provide motivational support. They encourage regularity and assiduity and stop unhealthy lifestyle habits. Joining a group of people who exercise can increase motivation through a system of mutual support and competition.
We are seeing a current slowdown in this market due to the phenomenon where people have either stopped using digital devices or at least used them for short periods.
The end of connected devices
Adoptiontion of connected sports devices is not distributed evenly across the population. Men who are sophisticated, well-educated, and socially privileged, as well as physically active, are more likely to use it. The 30-39 age range is also the one with the most smartwatches and smart bracelets.
While some population groups are less likely to have access to embedded technologies, those who do have them tend not to use them for a long time. Many factors can lead to this. These include logistical issues, time constraints in transferring data and interpreting it, lack of accuracy in data collection and interpretation, as well as difficulties in interpreting or using the data.
A digital community could help people get motivated to exercise. (Shutterstock)
The rejection of these gadgets may be due to a degradation in the experience of sports. For some, the act of putting numbers into an activity can make it seem more like forced labor rather than a form of leisure.
Extrinsic motivators (rewards and comparisons) tend to replace intrinsic motivations (the joy of running alone). A constant push to excel can cause a fear of failure and a sense of guilt if you don’t perform well. A disconnection from the present moment and bodily sensations can be caused by cognitive overload and distracted attention.
This could be a desire to break away from what is perceived as a generalized surveillance system, or an act of spiritual resistance. The smartwatch is being withdrawn to resist what’s perceived as an overly selective surveillance system. Or to free oneself from sports social networks or to return the focus to the physical sensations of training in sports.
It is possible to link the rejection of digital sports technology with the rise of minimalist values like sobriety and voluntary simplicity. It is a matter of rediscovering lost freedom or of resonance.
Quantification tools and their adherence
Not all amateur runners have abandoned their digital self-quantification tools. Although the phenomenon of dropping these tools is significant and explainable, it’s important also to consider the reasons why people continue to use them. What conditions allow amateur runners to keep practicing and quantifying their performances numerically while still enjoying and benefiting from the activity?
We found that amateur runners who were persistent in using digital tools had developed an advanced level of self-quantification. They were able to combine and integrate a number of techniques, or “everyday trick” to use Michel de Certeau’s phrase, that allowed them to interact with the digital device without affecting their sporting experience.
One way to do this is by alternating the use of the smartwatch. They begin by modulating the intensity and type of use of the smartwatch to adapt to changing conditions in their lives (for instance, suspending the goal of exceeding performance levels for a year when family life is busy). They learn to let certain quantifications go (such as sleep) so that they can focus on their running.
These runners differ in their interaction with the tool based on the type of training they are doing. They reserve the use of their smartwatch for interval training but consult it only occasionally for technical sessions, marathon pace sessions, or recovery runs. The runners will consult their watches at specific times during a running session. Some runners never check their watches during a run, but instead only afterward.
Running experts who have mastered self-quantification adapt their interactions with digital tools to the circumstances of life. (Shutterstock)
Another tactic is to agree to revise or abandon goals as they are reached, depending on the runner’s perception of their fitness level and environmental conditions. Flexibility is a reflection of the relationship between self-care and being benevolent towards yourself.
Finally, a third everyday tactic leads amateur runners to take systematic care to put into context what they consider to be counter-performances. They do not just look at the raw numbers but also use them to understand better the processes that lead to counter-performances (bad nights, professional stress, etc.). ).