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ISSN 0906-6934 Print ISBN: 978-87-93339-56-9 Online ISBN: 978-87-93339-57-6
THE MEASURABLE ME – THE INFLUENCE OF SELF-TRACKING ON THE USER EXPERIENCE
COPENHAGEN BUSINESS SCHOOL SOLBJERG PLADS 3 DK-2000 FREDERIKSBERG DANMARK
Mimmi Sjöklint
THE MEASURABLE ME – THE INFLUENCE OF SELF-TRACKING ON THE USER EXPERIENCE The PhD School of LIMAC
PhD Series 37.2015
PhD Series 37-2015
The Measurable Me The Influence of Self-tracking on the User Experience Mimmi Sjöklint
Supervisor Ioanna Constantiou Ph.D. School LIMAC Copenhagen Business School
Mimmi Sjöklint The Measurable Me - The Influence of Self-tracking on the User Experience 1st edition 2015 PhD Series 37.2015 © Mimmi Sjöklint
ISSN 0906-6934 Print ISBN: 978-87-93339-56-9 Online ISBN: 978-87-93339-57-6
LIMAC PhD School is a cross disciplinary PhD School connected to research communities within the areas of Languages, Law, Informatics, Operations Management, Accounting, Communication and Cultural Studies.
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To curiousity
Acknowledgements First and foremost, I owe the greatest gratitude to my supervisor, Ioanna Constantiou. Not only did she provide countless hours of valuable comments, recommendations, challenging critique, and advice - but also offered her generous support and friendship. Thank you, Ioanna, for all your time and patience. My secondary supervisor, Matthias Trier, has been a tremendous source of advice and inspiration as well. I always enjoy our philosophical musings and your enthusiasm on the topic. I would also like to acknowledge the support of the ITM department and staff of CBS. A special thanks goes out to Rasmus Pedersen, Arisa Shollo and Kostas Pantazos for patiently taking time out to listen, read and respond with much valuable feedback. Thanks to the WIP I and II discussants, Torkil Clemmensen, Helle Zinner Henriksen and Jakob Eg Larsen whose comments helped my work improve and proceed. In the final stages of this dissertation, Regina Clarke, also provided extensive feedback that sharpened the final product. Many thanks to the institutions that assisted in funding to enable data collection and conference travel. The LIMAC PhD School of CBS has generously been present throughout the process, alongside the Quantified Self Community and the Otto Mønsted Fond. The warmest thanks to my family. Thank you, Pappa, for years of discussions, pushing boundaries of thought, and always spurring me in my adventures. Thank you, Mamma, for all the love and care on any given day. Thank you, Max, and thank you, Pia, with your lovely family, for teaching me about life, support, food and high fives. Thank you farmor Gunilla, for gifting me with the love of reading. Thank you to my sweetest friends, who cheered me on, but also cheered with me, in the small victories and challenges along the way. Finally, I give my most heartfelt thank you to PSV for being the greatest source of energy, encouragement, laughter and love in the hectic times leading up to this submission. It would not have been possible without you.
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Abstract The proliferation of technological enhancements has fundamentally changed the relationship between the individual and technology. One particular change is the increased dispersion of technology in everyday experiences through personalized information technology (IT), such as smartphones, laptops, tablets and wearable technology. This development has brought about the rise of experiential computing, which refers to the “mediation of embodied experiences in every day activities through everyday artifacts that have embedded computing capabilities” (Yoo, 2010, p.213; Jain, 2003). The emphasis is thus placed on the relationship that occurs between the user and technology as the lived experience is mediated to the user through data dashboard. This potentially transformative relationship is both intimate and complex and spurs the research interest, which asks how the user is influenced by the exposure to personal data captured by experiential computing devices and how it alters the perception of personal performance. One type of activity stemming from the dispersion of experiential computing is self-tracking. Self-tracking is a way for the user to capture and measure intimate details of the self, by using IT to collect, index and analyze personal data on life experiences. For example, the user might use an activity tracker, like the Jawbone UP, to gather numerical data on daily step and sleep activity. The exposure to this data may transform or distort the way the user initially perceived the activity by getting a new visual expression of what has occurred. To better understand the user’s reaction and counter-reactions to using experiential tools, this research suggests placing the focus on the user and analyzing it through a behavioral economics perspective. This is done by conducting empirical studies with a mixed method approach. The first study is a field study that investigates the influence on performance and perception by wearing a self-tracking device. The second study is an in-depth interview study that studies experienced self-trackers by exploring further into the perceptions of the user. This dissertation contributes to a deeper understanding of how the self-tracking user is affected by the use of experiential computing devices and the subsequent exposure to personal data. The findings suggest that the user’s analysis steps and sleep performance goes through a complex reflective process after the exposure to data that influences the perception of the initial experience. When this process involves unsatisfactory data, the user will reject the data and adopts coping tactics. The coping tactics are dismissal, procrastination, selective attention and intentional neglect.
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Sammanfattning Utvecklingen av teknologiska verktyg har förändrat samspelet mellan individen och teknologin. En särskilt påtaglig förändring är den ökade spridningen av teknologi i vardagliga situationer, genom bruk av personliga IT verktyg, såsom smartphones, bärbara datorer, plattor samt s.k. wearables eller wearable technology, teknologi som bärs på kroppen i form av armband, glasögon och andra format. Utvecklingen uppmuntrar en ökad relation mellan användare och teknologi i vardagliga begivenheter. Fenomenet kallas för ’experiential computing’, nämligen teknologi som fångar upplevelsen som sker mellan just individen och teknologin för att sedan omvandla detta till ett digitalt format som sedan speglas åter till användaren (Jain, 2003; Yoo, 2010). Denna avhandling utforskar detta transformativa förhållande och frågar hur användarens uppfattning om personlig prestation påverkas av att bli exponerad av personlig data. ’Experiential computing’ har gett upphov till nya aktiviteter som själv-spårning, även kallat egen-mätning och ’self-tracking’. Själv-spårning är en aktivitet där en användare samlar numerisk data om sig själv genom att använda datoriserade verktyg. Det är ett sätt att indexera och analysera personliga aspekter om livshändelser, precis som att skriva en dagbok eller att göra ett fotoalbum. Det innebär att en användare, exempelvis, använder aktivitetsmätare, som Jawbone UP, för att samla numerisk data kring hur mycket man går och sover dagligen. Denna avhandling fokuserar på användarens upplevelse och den invecklade mänskliga relationen till teknologin. För att undersöka reaktioner samt motreaktioner så tillämpas ett teoretiskt perspektiv från behavioral economics (Kahneman 2003; även kallad beteendeekonomi). Två empiriska studier utforskar hur högteknologiska aktivitetsmätare används, vilket består av en kvantitativ fältstudie med nya användare och en djupgående kvalitativ intervjustudie med erfarna användare. Genom att utgå från användaren är det vidare möjligt att bättre förstå det individuella perspektivet under exponering av personlig data. Denna avhandling bidrar till ökad kunskap kring användningen av teknologi, såsom ’experiential computing’, i vardagliga situationer för att samla digital data om upplevelser. Studierna ger en fördjupad förståelse för vad som händer vid exponering av sådan personlig data. Resultaten visar att användarens analys av personliga data går genom en komplicerad reflektions- och existentiell process som mynnar ut i olika reaktioner, såsom försvarsmekanismer. Fyra försvarsmekaniskmer identifierades: avfärda, fördröja, selektiv uppmärksamhet och försummelse.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS 84 44444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444448 848 + * !&, * +,444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444448 849 + * )- +,!'&444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444
