A recent Pew Research study found that 7 out of 10 people self track regularly--from their pedometer, to their sleep patterns, to calorie intake and more. We have increasingly become a society that values putting numbers against the mundane actions of our lives. Tracking our vital information gives us a sense of control over our lives, and in turning into "scientists" of our own bodies, believing if we know our bodies better we will know ourselves better, increasing our health, self-knowledge and efficiency. And it's more prevalent than you think---positing the route of your run on Twitter or wearing your Nike fuel band, for example (and Google Glass and other wearable devices will surely increase this). But are we risking our privacy in meticulously detailing our health? Do we risk self-diagnosing and missing the bigger picture by obsessing over certain details of our health / lives? Can we really "hack" our bodies to be healthier and more efficient? Or, are we empowering ourselves to take more ownership of our lives?
Interesting read, talks about the Quantified Self Movement--those who obsessively track self information--some of which track their "human data" down to the stool sample. Really.
SITE: http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2013/06/26/the-body-data-craze.html
