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Cited by 437Ethics and bioethics in healthcareInnovative Human-Technology InteractionMobile Health and mHealth Applications

Self-Tracking for Health and the Quantified Self: Re-Articulating Autonomy, Solidarity, and Authenticity in an Age of Personalized Healthcare

Open access
Sharon, Tamar·2017·Philosophy & Technology
DOI 10.1007/s13347-016-0215-5
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Abstract

Self-tracking devices point to a future in which individuals will be more involved in the management of their health and will generate data that will benefit clinical decision making and research. They have thus attracted enthusiasm from medical and public health professionals as key players in the move toward participatory and personalized healthcare. Critics, however, have begun to articulate a number of broader societal and ethical concerns regarding self-tracking, foregrounding their disciplining, and disempowering effects. This paper has two aims: first, to analyze some of the key promises and concerns that inform this polarized debate. I argue that far from being solely about health outcomes, this debate is very much about fundamental values that are at stake in the move toward personalized healthcare, namely, the values of autonomy, solidarity, and authenticity. The second aim is to provide a framework within which an alternative approach to self-tracking for health can be developed. I suggest that a practice-based approach, which studies how values are enacted in specific practices, can open the way for a new set of theoretical questions. In the last part of the paper, I sketch out how this can work by describing various enactments of autonomy, solidarity, and authenticity among self-trackers in the Quantified Self community. These examples show that shifting attention to practices can render visible alternative and sometimes unexpected enactments of values. Insofar as these may challenge both the promises and concerns in the debate on self-tracking for health, they can lay the groundwork for new conceptual interventions in future research.

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

The paper analyzes the polarized debate over self-tracking for health and personalized healthcare, arguing that it is fundamentally about the values of autonomy, solidarity, and authenticity. It proposes a practice-based approach and uses examples from the Quantified Self community to show alternative, sometimes unexpected, enactments of those values.

Key findings

  • The debate is structured by three polarizations: empowerment vs. surveillance and discipline; improved overall health vs. the disintegration of state and collective responsibility for health; and greater self-knowledge vs. reductionism and the non-impartiality of numbers.
  • Both advocates and critics appeal to the same values—autonomy, solidarity, and authenticity—so reframing the debate around values clarifies the stakes and ties it to broader socio-political transformations.
  • A practice-based approach shows Quantified Self self-trackers enact autonomy through n = 1 self-experiments, custom categories, and resistance to being tracked by others; solidarity through sharing data, communal/confessional meetings, and group studies or public data contributions; and authenticity through data as a supplement to storytelling and a “qualified self,” rather than pure data fetishism.
  • The paper reports contextual numbers: a 2013 Pew study found 1 in 5 Americans use technology to track their health; almost 2 billion people worldwide were estimated to use digital devices to track health by 2017; some 97,000 mobile health apps existed; 485 million wearable devices were expected to be released annually by 2018; and the Quantified Self community had over 60,000 members in over 200 groups with two international conferences a year.

Methods

  • Design: conceptual and philosophical analysis of the promises and concerns surrounding self-tracking for health and personalized healthcare, followed by a proposed practice-based framework.
  • Data or sample: observations and interviews carried out within the Quantified Self community at various meetings and international conferences between 2013 and 2015, including QSEU14 and QSEU15.
  • Main analysis: identifies three key polarizations, reframes them in terms of autonomy, solidarity, and authenticity, and uses ethnographic examples to describe how those values are enacted in specific self-tracking practices.

Limitations

  • The paper states that the debate remains highly speculative, tends to configure users unrealistically—either as rational consumers making autonomous health choices or as victims oblivious to insidious forces—and is detached from the everyday experiences of people actually using self-tracking devices.
  • The paper states that its examples are drawn from the Quantified Self, a very specific group of “early adopters,” which limits broader conclusions; it calls for other empirical sites such as chronic patients, people who stop using self-tracking devices, non-users, and older people.
  • Evident from the text: the empirical basis is illustrative rather than systematically described; no sample size, recruitment strategy, or coding/analysis procedure for the observations and interviews is reported, and the paper does not resolve which enactments of values should be normatively preferred, leaving that to future research.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1007/s13347-016-0215-5

Cites

78 of 78 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Nothing to recompute.

Claims the paper makes

0 of 44 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged

  • Findingreasoning

    For members of the Quantified Self, and arguably for many self-trackers beyond it, a crucial aspect of self-tracking is the opportunity to share data with others and participate in self-tracking communities.

    “Yet, for members of QS, and arguably for many selftrackers beyond QS, a crucial aspect of self-tracking is the opportunity to share their data with others and to participate in self-tracking communities of various sorts.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The Quantified Self community and its meetings, presentations, and members' self-reports provide a valid and sufficiently representative basis for drawing conclusions about self-tracking for health practices in the move toward personalized healthcare.
  • Findingnone given

    Self-tracking experiments typically focus on disturbing, painful, or embarrassing aspects of individuals' lives.

    “Indeed, selftracking experiments typically focus on aspects of individuals' lives that are disturbing, painful, or embarrassing: struggles with weight loss, mental health and disease, bad habits, or undesirable character traits-sensitive issues that are not easily revealed in most contexts and that are given a voice via the abstract language of numbers.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The Quantified Self community and its meetings, presentations, and members' self-reports provide a valid and sufficiently representative basis for drawing conclusions about self-tracking for health practices in the move toward personalized healthcare.
  • Findingreasoning

    Self-tracking data is often referred to by QSers as a supplement, an additional layer of information that enhances broader understandings and self-narratives.

    “Often, self-tracking data is referred to as a supplement, an additional layer of information that enhances or contributes to broader understandings and self-narratives.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Findingown data

    In physical activity tracking, QSers engage in cross-checking and re-calibration between their intuitions and data, attempting to align both rather than having blind faith in data over intuition.

    “As one participant at QSEU14 explained concerning physical activity tracking, quite some Bcross-checking^and Bre-calibration^goes on between one's intuitions and what the data shows, and rather than a blind faith in the latter over and above the former, an attempt to align both ensues.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
  • Findingcitation

    A spirit of autonomy runs through many origin stories of the Quantified Self community, where tracking takes on explicit forms of challenging scientific and medical authority.

    “A Bspirit of autonomy,^as Wolf calls it, also runs through many of the origin stories of the QS community as they are told and re-told at QS meetings, where tracking often takes on more explicit forms of challenging scientific and medical authority.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The Quantified Self community and its meetings, presentations, and members' self-reports provide a valid and sufficiently representative basis for drawing conclusions about self-tracking for health practices in the move toward personalized healthcare.
  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. 71
  • May combine two claims. 22

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).

    Findingnone given

    For Quantified Selfers, the idea that what is good, right, or healthy for one person differs for every individual is a fundamental axiom.

    “Here, the idea that what is Bgood,^Bright,^or Bhealthy^for one person differs for every individual is a fundamental axiom.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The Quantified Self community and its meetings, presentations, and members' self-reports provide a valid and sufficiently representative basis for drawing conclusions about self-tracking for health practices in the move toward personalized healthcare.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Findingnone given

    These practitioners believe that their personal data is a new natural resource that should be part of a commons.

    “nor these practitioners' belief that their personal data is indeed a new natural resource that should be part of a commons.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based). May combine two claims.

    Findingnone given

    A number of QS community members frequently engage in group studies pooling individual self-experiments, organized by platforms like Genomera or Doubleblinded, or make their tracking data publicly available for researchers, for example on Open Humans.

    “a number of members throughout the community frequently engage in group studies that pool together individual self-experiments, organized by platforms like BGenomera^or BDoubleblinded,^or actively make their tracking data publicly available for researchers to use, for example, on the BOpen Humans^network.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingown data

    In Quantified Self gatherings, data takes on the form of a common language that everyone can relate to, enabling sharing of experiences.

    “In these gatherings, the show-and-tell format described above is the framework through which participants share their experiences, while data takes on the form of a Bcommon language^that Beveryone can relate to,^as per one participant at QSEU14, that makes this possible.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The Quantified Self community and its meetings, presentations, and members' self-reports provide a valid and sufficiently representative basis for drawing conclusions about self-tracking for health practices in the move toward personalized healthcare.

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingreasoning

    Self-disclosure and self-confrontation are commonplace in Quantified Self gatherings and infuse these meetings with a confessional quality.

    “Self-disclosure and self-confrontation are commonplace in QS gatherings and infuse these meetings with a confessional quality.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The Quantified Self community and its meetings, presentations, and members' self-reports provide a valid and sufficiently representative basis for drawing conclusions about self-tracking for health practices in the move toward personalized healthcare.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Findingreasoning

    Storytelling is a recurrent theme at QS meetings.

    “The theme of storytelling is a recurrent one at QS meetings.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).

    Findingnone given

    Claims to contributing to the public good are systematically and often loosely attached to these self-tracking practices.

    “There is no question that claims to Bcontributing to the public good^that are systematically and often loosely attached to these self-tracking practices need to be critically scrutinized.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Findingown data

    At QSEU14, a participant explained that quantified data are used as signals in digital storytelling, mingled in with one's story.

    “At QSEU14, one participant explained that quantified data are like Bsignals^that are used in a form of Bdigital storytelling,^Bmingled in^with one's story.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingcitation

    QS leaders have begun to position themselves as supporters of catalyzing the use of personal data for the public good and as mediators between stakeholders in public health research using personal health data.

    “The leaders of QS have also begun to actively position themselves as supporters of the trend toward Bcatalyzing the use of personal data for the public good^ (HDE 2016) and as mediators between stakeholders in the emerging landscape of public health research using personal health data.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites HDE 2016

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Findingnone given

    The Quantified Self community is characterized by local meetings where members share first-hand experiences using self-tracking methods and tools in short show-and-tell presentations.

    “The Quantified Self (QS) community is characterized by local meetings where members get together to share their first-hand experiences using self-tracking methods and tools in short show-and-tell presentations.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The Quantified Self community and its meetings, presentations, and members' self-reports provide a valid and sufficiently representative basis for drawing conclusions about self-tracking for health practices in the move toward personalized healthcare.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Findingreasoning

    The QS movement's motto and statements by leading QS members often suggest an excessive belief in the objectivity and truthfulness of numbers.

    “The movement's motto, Bself-knowledge through numbers,^and statements made by leading QS members in talks and articles do often smack of an excessive belief in the objectivity and truthfulness of numbers.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Findingnone given

    In 2014, QS Labs helped coordinate a symposium at the Qualcomm Institute at UC San Diego that brought together researchers, public health officials, self-trackers, and business and technology representatives on voluntary and participatory public health research.

    “In 2014, QS Labs helped coordinate a symposium at the Qualcomm Institute at the University of California, San Diego, that brought together researchers, public health officials, self-trackers, and business and technology representatives on the topic of voluntary and participatory public health research.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Findingnone given

    The QS Public Health Symposium has become an annual event that concurs with the research meetings of the Health Data Exploration Network.

    “The BQS Public Health Symposium^has become an annual event that concurs with the research meetings of the Health Data Exploration Network.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Findingreasoning

    It is not clear from listening to QSers that, as Horning argues, the true self emerges through information processing by algorithmic systems that report back the true nature of who we are.

    “However, it is not clear from listening to QSers that, as Honing argues, Bthe true self, from this point of view […] emerges through information processing […] algorithmic systems that report back to us the true nature of who we are.^”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Horning 2013

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).

    Findingnone given

    These self-tracking practices have a solidaristic nature for practitioners.

    “But the fact that they need to be asked does not suspend the solidaristic nature of these practices for practitioners”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingcitation

    In self-experiments, Quantified Selfers are constituted as subjects who do not fit categories, for whom state-sponsored health messages and industry-determined variables are often ill-fitting or not fine-grained enough.

    “In these self-experiments, QSers are constituted as subjects who do not fit categories (Nafus and Sherman 2014), for whom state-sponsored messages of health and industrydetermined variables and functions are often seen as ill-fitting or not fine-grained enough.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Nafus and Sherman 2014

      Not checked in the free run.

    • Rests on an assumption: The Quantified Self community and its meetings, presentations, and members' self-reports provide a valid and sufficiently representative basis for drawing conclusions about self-tracking for health practices in the move toward personalized healthcare.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing). May combine two claims.

    Findingnone given

    An important discussion in the QS community in recent years has been how self-tracking data can contribute to public health and how to make self-experimentation a more valid and accepted form of scientific knowledge production.

    “One of the important discussions that has animated the QS community in the past years, moreover, has been the question of how self-tracking data can contribute to public health and, more specifically, the question of how to make self-experimentation a more valid and accepted form of scientific knowledge production.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Findingreasoning

    An important distinction can be made between tracking yourself and being tracked by others.

    “an important distinction can be made between Btracking yourself^and Bbeing tracked by others,^between a Bdoctor putting you on a scale^and doing so yourself.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The Quantified Self community and its meetings, presentations, and members' self-reports provide a valid and sufficiently representative basis for drawing conclusions about self-tracking for health practices in the move toward personalized healthcare.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Findingreasoning

    Some QSers have begun speaking about a 'qualified self' as a more accurate expression of the entanglements and negotiations between metrics and interpretive schemes that characterize the quest for self-knowledge.

    “This has led some QSers to begin speaking about a Bqualified self^ (Davis 2013) as a more accurate expression of the entanglements and negotiations between metrics and interpretive schemes that characterize the quest for self-knowledge.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Davis 2013

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Findingreasoning

    For many QSers, the self reported back by tracking devices' algorithmic systems is taken to be truthful to some extent, but there is also an understanding that without context, data can only tell a partial story.

    “Rather, for many QSers, while the self that is Breported back^from the algorithmic systems of tracking devices is taken be truthful to some extent, there is also an understanding that without context, data can only tell a partial story.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

    Findingnone given

    Many of the concerns raised by critics about privacy and about who gets to interpret data and to what ends are being discussed within the QS community.

    “This is part of what makes the Quantified Self such a fascinating site, particularly since many of the concerns raised by critics, about privacy, about who gets to interpret data and to what ends, are being discussed within the community.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Findingreasoning

    For some trackers, numbers are not at all what self-tracking is really about.

    “In other words, for some trackers, numbers are not at all what self-tracking is really about.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based). May combine two claims.

    Premisenone given

    The third promise of self-tracking for health is greater knowledge: knowledge that will be more precise, more actionable, and that will cover ever more areas, including one's knowledge of oneself.

    “The third promise of self-tracking for health is greater knowledge: knowledge that will be more precise, more actionable, and that will cover ever more areas, including one's knowledge of oneself.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    Critical discussions of self-tracking for health have emerged in the social sciences literature, giving rise to a broad, polarized debate.

    “In response to the overwhelmingly positive attention that self-tracking has received in the medical and public health literature, critical discussions of self-tracking for health have begun to emerge in the social sciences literature (e.g., Lupton 2012Lupton , 2013Lupton , 2014Lupton , 2015;;Morozov 2013;Whitson 2013;Nafus and Sherman 2014;Ruckenstein 2014;Till 2014), giving rise to a broad, Polar”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Lupton 2012 source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites Morozov 2013

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites Whitson 2013 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationcitation

    Self-tracking tools entail a minimal level of commitment to self-examination, self-monitoring, and self-improvement, placing them within a long history of medical surveillance and biopolitical governance.

    “Self-tracking tools indeed entail a minimal level of commitment to selfexamination, self-monitoring, and self-improvement, placing them within a long history of medical surveillance and biopolitical governance (Foucault 1977;Armstrong 1995).”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Foucault 1977

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites Armstrong 1995 source

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).

    Interpretationreasoning

    Concerns about discipline, digital labor, and voluntary self-surveillance risk configuring users of self-tracking devices as mindless dupes.

    “concerns of discipline, digital labor, and of individuals voluntarily partaking in selfsurveillance run the risk of configuring users of self-tracking devices as mindless dupes, unaware of or uninterested in the political and economic agendas at play.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationreasoning

    The notion that human perception is prone to bias and that subjective experience, intuition, and haptic senses are lacking compared to quantification lies at the core of the quantified pursuit of self-awareness and self-knowledge.

    “This notion, that human perception is prone to bias and that subjective experience, intuition, and haptic senses are somehow lacking in comparison to the arithmetic precision of quantification, lies at the core of the quantified pursuit of self-awareness and self-knowledge.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationcitation

    Advertisements and websites for wearables and apps typically portray lifestyle and chronic conditions as unruly things that need to be taken charge over, and devices as facilitators.

    “Advertisements and websites for wearables and apps typically portray lifestyle and chronic conditions as unruly things that need to be taken charge over: users are called upon to Btake control of your sleep,^Beat smarter,^and Btell your weight who's boss,^ and devices are depicted as facilitators that can Bhelp you on your quest [toward glucose control]^”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisenone given

    Patient- or citizen-run studies using data generated by tracking and monitoring devices conducted individually or in groups are becoming an important trend.

    “Patient-or citizen-run studies using data generated by tracking and monitoring devices conducted individually or in groups are also becoming an important trend.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Alternative enactments of values may challenge both the promises and concerns in the debate on self-tracking for health and can lay the groundwork for new conceptual interventions in future research.

    “Insofar as these may challenge both the promises and concerns in the debate on self-tracking for health, they can lay the groundwork for new conceptual interventions in future research.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Interpretationreasoning

    A number of the assumptions underlying claims in the self-tracking debate need further empirical examination.

    “In other words, a number of the assumptions underlying these claims need further empirical examination.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationreasoning

    The promise of empowerment in the personalized healthcare and digital health debate invokes the value of autonomy.

    “The promise of empowerment that has been shown to be key in the PHC and digital health debate thus invokes, in various ways, the value of autonomy.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    It is estimated that by 2017, almost 2 billion people worldwide will use digital devices to track their health.

    “it is estimated that by 2017, almost 2 billion people worldwide will use digital devices to track their health (Research2Guidance 2013).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Research2Guidance 2013

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationnone given

    The debate on self-tracking for health is not solely about health outcomes but is very much about fundamental values at stake in the move toward personalized healthcare, namely autonomy, solidarity, and authenticity.

    “I argue that far from being solely about health outcomes, this debate is very much about fundamental values that are at stake in the move toward personalized healthcare, namely, the values of autonomy, solidarity, and authenticity.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Interpretationnone given

    Many of the arguments made for and against the desirability of self-tracking for health are persuasive but present important limitations.

    “many of the arguments made for and against the desirability of self-tracking for health in these discussions are persuasive.They also, however, present important limitations that should be made explicit and grappled with if we want to understand how people are experiencing the use of self-tracking for health in the move toward PHC.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

    Premisenone given

    In many advertisements and popular accounts of self-tracking, the notion that collecting fine-grained details about one's body can lead to unique insights about oneself is key.

    “In many advertisements and popular accounts of self-tracking, the notion that collecting fine-grained details about various aspects of one's body can lead to unique insights about oneself is key.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationreasoning

    The promise of improved and sustainable overall health in self-tracking and PHC is presented as working in a bottom-up fashion, with an individualizing moment crucial to the enterprise.

    “Interestingly, the promise of improved and sustainable overall health here is presented as working in a bottom-up fashion that is not the traditional proposed mechanism for achieving population or public health goals, certainly not in the European context.There is an individualizing moment in the promissory discourse of selftracking for health and PHC-expressed in the very terms of Bpersonaliz”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Discourses of empowerment and individual choice in self-tracking for health are rhetorical devices that conceal political and economic agendas often detached from the real interests of patients and citizens, masking a dynamic of abandonment rather than empowerment.

    “In terms of the promise of improved overall health, this means that discourses of empowerment and individual choice are rhetorical devices that conceal political and economic agendas that are often detached from the real interests of patients and citizens, masking a dynamic of abandonment rather than empowerment.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Interpretationnone given

    PHC is presented as a stone that kills two birds: its effectiveness is tantamount to its cost-efficiency.

    “PHC is thus a stone that kills two birds: its effectiveness is tantamount to its cost-efficiency.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Premisenone given

    Linking big biomedical data will enable researchers to identify which treatments are most effective for particular conditions, to test new hypotheses and identify patterns related to drug side effects, and to create larger study populations.

    “Linking big biomedical data, it is argued, will enable researchers to identify which treatments are most effective for particular conditions, to test new hypotheses and identify patterns related to drug side effects and to create the possibility of larger study populations than ever thought possible.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisenone given

    Increased emphasis on individual responsibility in health has been the focus of intense critique by scholars working on health and governance issues.

    “Yet, since its emergence, the increased emphasis on individual responsibility in health has been the focus of intense critique by scholars working on health and governance issues.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Premisecitation

    The second promise of self-tracking for health is improved overall health and more sustainable healthcare.

    “The second promise of self-tracking for health is improved overall health and more sustainable healthcare.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S3 (load-bearing), S4 (based).

    Premisenone given

    The promise of empowerment resonates widely across the discursive landscape of self-tracking for health.

    “The promise of empowerment resonates widely across the discursive landscape of selftracking for health.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim. May combine two claims.

    Premisenone given

    Two fundamental components of personalized healthcare are its emphasis on data and its emphasis on individuals.

    “Two fundamental components of personalized healthcare (PHC), the combination of which underlies perhaps more than anything else the revolutionary claims of its proponents, are its emphasis on data and its emphasis on individuals.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationreasoning

    On both sides of the self-tracking debate, users of self-tracking devices are often configured in unrealistic ways: either as rational consumers who make autonomous health choices or as victims of insidious forces.

    “on both sides of this debate, users of self-tracking devices are often configured in unrealistic ways: either as rational consumers who make autonomous health choices or as victims of insidious forces to which they remain oblivious.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S4 (based).

    Interpretationnone given

    Many claims in the debate on self-tracking for health take place in a highly theoretical and even speculative vacuum.

    “First amongst these limitations is that many of these claims are taking place in a highly theoretical and even speculative vacuum, certainly in the case of the promises being made, but also, often, in the case of the anticipated fears.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationreasoning

    The debate on self-tracking and personalized healthcare coalesces around three fundamental values: autonomy, solidarity, and authenticity.

    “these promises and concerns coalesce around three fundamental values that are at stake in the move toward PHC and the widespread adoption of self-tracking for health, to which both sides of this debate appealthe values of autonomy, solidarity, and authenticity.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Interpretationreasoning

    The novelty with self-tracking for health is that it portrays empowerment as one of its paramount virtues.

    “The novelty with selftracking for health is that it portrays empowerment as one of its paramount virtues.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    References to the Delphic maxim 'Know thyself' are rife in the quantified self blogosphere and presentations.

    “References to the Delphic maxim to BKnow thyself^are rife in the quantified self blogosphere (Wolf 2009;de Groot 2012) and presentations.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 2 sources checked
    • cites Wolf 2009

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites de Groot 2012

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Interpretationreasoning

    The quest for personal meaning about oneself via self-tracking is most pronounced in the Quantified Self movement.

    “Nowhere is this quest for personal meaning about oneself via self-tracking more pronounced than in what is known as the Quantified Self movement.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S4 (based).

    Interpretationreasoning

    The promises of increased empowerment through individual responsibility are highly problematic, if not empty labels used for predominantly economic interests.

    “the promises put forward, especially concerning increased empowerment by means of individual responsibility, emerge as highly problematic, if not empty labels used for predominantly economic interests, as the critique of those promises makes clear.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).

    Interpretationnone given

    One of the biggest novelties of digital self-tracking is that it makes it possible to collect data on individuals continuously, creating a much more complex and complete picture than if health data is only collected at regular intervals.

    “One of the biggest novelties of digital self-tracking is that it makes it possible to collect data on individuals continuously, creating a much more complex and complete picture than if health data is only collected at regular intervals.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Interpretationreasoning

    Self-tracking devices are portrayed as powerful tools in the data-intensive rehaul of health research, as generators of the small data on individual users that will feed vast datasets.

    “Self-tracking devices are portrayed as powerful tools in this radical, data-intensive rehaul of health research, as generators of the Bsmall data^ on any one individual user that will feed these vast datasets.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S4 (based).

    Interpretationnone given

    The abundance of data that tracking devices can generate promises to transform the relationship of individuals to their own health, bodies, psyches, and selves.

    “While the digitalization of medical research is largely institutionally driven, at the level of individual patients and citizens, the abundance of data that tracking devices can generate also promises to transform the relationship of individuals to their own health and further to their bodies, their psyches, and their selves.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).

    Interpretationnone given

    Current discussions surrounding self-tracking in personalized healthcare can be depicted in terms of three key polarizations: empowerment vs. discipline and surveillance, individual vs. collective responsibility for health, and greater self-knowledge vs. alienation via quantification.

    “In summary, current discussions surrounding the use of self-tracking technologies in the move toward PHC can be depicted in terms of three key polarizations: empowerment vs. discipline and surveillance, individual vs. collective responsibility for health, and greater self-knowledge vs. alienation via quantification.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Interpretationreasoning

    In the promissory discourse, to be engaged in one's health is ipso facto to be engaged in the health of the population.

    “In this sense, to be engaged in one's health is, ipso facto, to be engaged in the health of the population.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S4 (based).

    Interpretationnone given

    A practice-based approach, which studies how values are enacted in specific practices, can open the way for a new set of theoretical questions.

    “I suggest that a practice-based approach, which studies how values are enacted in specific practices, can open the way for a new set of theoretical questions.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationreasoning

    Some important questions emerging from the self-tracking debate are empirical questions that can be addressed using ethnographic methods.

    “some of the important questions that emerge from this debate are, to an important extent, empirical questions that can be addressed using empirical, namely ethnographic methods.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).

    Interpretationnone given

    Taking a practice-based approach to the study of values allows identifying the emergence of new forms of solidarity in unexpected sites.

    “Taking a practice-based approach to the study of values is a first step in this direction, insofar as it allows us to identify the emergence of new forms of solidarity in unexpected sites.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    The Quantified Self emphasis on individual health and well-being reproduces the disciplinary dimension of healthism while simultaneously disputing its content by subjecting it to scientific scrutiny and challenging authoritative health claims.

    “While this emphasis on individual health and well-being does reproduce the disciplinary dimension of the discourse of healthism, as critics in the self-tracking and PHC debate point out, it simultaneously disputes the content of that discourse by subjecting it to (at least somewhat) scientific scrutiny and thus challenges authoritative health claims.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    In the Quantified Self context, what constitutes a healthy practice may be completely different for different people, challenging the very existence of a norm.

    “In this context, what constitutes a healthy practice may be completely different for different people, not just as a deviation from a norm, but as something that actually challenges the very existence of a norm.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    Within a practice-based approach, values are conceptualized as emerging from within practices and as embedded in and taking shape in everyday practices.

    “Within such a practice-based approach, values are also conceptualized as emerging from within practices.Rather than abstract entities-BTruth,^BFreedom,^ BFriendship^-or universal truth claims that precede or transcend experience, values are understood here as embedded in and as taking shape in everyday practices.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Mol 2002 source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites Pols 2012

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites Swierstra 2013

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Premisecitation

    At the core of practice approaches is the idea that the primary relation of humans to the world is through practical activity, not contemplation and representation.

    “At the core of these approaches is the idea that the primary relation of humans to the world is not by way of contemplation and representation, but through practical activity.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Schatzki et al. 2001

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites Reckwitz 2002 source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites Nicolini 2012

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Interpretationreasoning

    Collective projects are one of the directions some QSers will take in the future.

    “Collective projects do seem to be one of the directions that some QSers will be taking in the future.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationreasoning

    In the discussion around types of knowledge produced by self-tracking, both advocates and critics appeal to the value of authenticity.

    “Likewise, in the discussion around the types of knowledge that can be produced using self-tracking devices, both advocates and critics appeal to the value of authenticity, in the form of an enhanced or an impoverished relationship to one's self.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationcitation

    For many QSers, the relationship between objective data and subjective experience is not a zero-sum game but a tension and negotiation that produces meaning, a process QSers are often aware of partaking in.

    “As we argue in that context, the relationship between so-called objective data and socalled subjective experience is hardly a zero-sum game for many QSers, but rather a tension and a negotiation that produces meaning, a process that QSers are often aware of partaking in.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Sharon and Zandbergen 2016

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Interpretationreasoning

    Values have multiple meanings because, insofar as they are enacted, they can be enacted in different ways in different contexts.

    “It implies that values have multiple meanings since, insofar as they are enacted, they can be enacted in different ways in different contexts.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Premisecitation

    Values are articulated in specific acts or enacted.

    “They are articulated in specific acts or Benacted^ (Mol 2002;Pols 2012;Swierstra 2013).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Mol 2002 source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites Pols 2012

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites Swierstra 2013

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Study design and conductown data

    The paper's analysis is based on observations and interviews within the Quantified Self community at various meetings and international conferences between 2013 and 2015.

    “based on observations and interviews carried out within the Quantified Self community of self-trackers at various meetings and international conferences between 2013 and 2015, where members demonstrate, describe, and discuss their self-tracking practices.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim
    • Rests on an assumption: The Quantified Self community and its meetings, presentations, and members' self-reports provide a valid and sufficiently representative basis for drawing conclusions about self-tracking for health practices in the move toward personalized healthcare.

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Interpretationreasoning

    A shift of emphasis toward practices and a reframing of the debate in terms of values offers an alternative framework to describe and evaluate self-tracking tools.

    “A shift of emphasis toward practices and a reframing of the debate on PHC and selftracking in terms of values thus offers an alternative framework from within which to describe and begin to evaluate the use of self-tracking tools.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Premisecitation

    Practice theories have become increasingly popular in recent years in philosophy, cultural theory, sociology, anthropology, and science and technology studies.

    “Practice theories have become increasingly popular in recent years in philosophy, cultural theory, sociology, anthropology, and science and technology studies, as offering a new vista for understanding social reality (see, for example, Schatzki et al. 2001;Reckwitz 2002;Nicolini 2012).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 3 sources checked
    • cites Schatzki et al. 2001

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites Reckwitz 2002 source

      Not checked in the free run.

    • cites Nicolini 2012

      Not checked in the free run.

  • May combine two claims.

    Interpretationcitation

    The idea that QSers are data fetishists enamored by the truth and objectivity of data is very limiting and fails to account for other ways QSers render their tracking practices meaningful.

    “As Zandbergen and I have argued elsewhere (Sharon and Zandbergen 2016), however, the idea that QSers are enamored by the perceived power of truth and objectivity of data that they are data fetishists, is very limiting and fails to account for a variety of other ways that QSers render their tracking practices meaningful.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Sharon and Zandbergen 2016

      Not checked in the free run.

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationreasoning

    The spirit of autonomy in Quantified Self comes to the fore as an attempt to navigate a complex world of messages and social conventions and to carve out a space of agency.

    “Thisspirit of autonomy comes to the fore as an attempt to navigate a complex world where various messages and social conventions conveyed by the media, by medical institutions, and by the state tell people what to do and to carve out a space of agency therein.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).

    Interpretationnone given

    Self-tracking practices can open up new spaces for the enactment of solidarity.

    “if I have highlighted that self-tracking practices can open up new spaces for the enactment of solidarity”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    In these forms of self-tracking, tracking practices may activate a heightened awareness of one's body, self, and environment, while data may enable new types of self-expression and enactments of authenticity.

    “In these forms of self-tracking, tracking practices may activate a heightened awareness of one's body, self, and environment, while data may enable new types of self-expression and enactments of authenticity.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S4 (based).

    Interpretationreasoning

    The debate on digital and personalized healthcare is detached from the everyday experiences of people who are actually using self-tracking devices in their daily lives.

    “Third, and in light of these, it is detached from the everyday experiences of people who are actually using self-tracking devices in their daily lives.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Interpretationreasoning

    A practice-based approach that studies how values are articulated or enacted in specific practices is useful for moving beyond the limitations of the debate on digital and personalized healthcare.

    “A practice-based approach, I suggested, that studies how values are articulated or enacted in specific practices, is useful for moving beyond these limitations.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable), S4 (based).

    Interpretationnone given

    The value of autonomy is enacted differently in self-tracking practices on the backdrop of discourses of healthism and a culture of surveillance.

    “if I have highlighted that the value of autonomy is enacted differently in self-tracking practices on the backdrop of discourses of healthism and a culture of surveillance”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable). May combine two claims.

    Interpretationreasoning

    A practice-based approach can lay the groundwork for new conceptual interventions and questions and reorient focus to enactments of values in unexpected empirical sites.

    “It can lay the groundwork for a series of new conceptual interventions and questions, and it can reorient our focus to enactments of values in unexpected empirical sites.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S2 (checkable).

    Interpretationnone given

    The debate on digital and personalized healthcare remains highly speculative-certainly in terms of its promises, but also in terms of a number of its concerns.

    “First, it remains highly speculative-certainly in terms of its promises, but also in terms of a number of its concerns.”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Interpretationnone given

    The debate on digital and personalized healthcare tends to configure users of self-tracking devices in unrealistic ways-either as rational consumers who make autonomous health choices or as victims of insidious political and economic agendas of which they are oblivious.

    “Second, it tends to configure users of self-tracking devices in unrealistic ways-either as rational consumers who make autonomous health choices or as victims of insidious political and economic agendas of which they are oblivious.”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Classified as probably not a substantial claim.

    Study design and conductnone given

    The examples discussed in the paper are drawn from a very specific group of practitioners who share all the common characteristics known to early adopters.

    “The examples discussed here, to be sure, are drawn from a very specific group of practitioners, who share all the common characteristics known to Bearly adopters.^”
    Quote in the paperSubstantial claim

  • Probably not a substantial claim: may not pass S3 (load-bearing).

    Interpretationcitation

    For some trackers, numbers may be an unsophisticated, intermediate stage toward more augmented senses and expanded notions of selfhood.

    “They may instead be more like an unsophisticated, intermediate stage toward more augmented senses and, perhaps, expanded notions of selfhood (Swan 2013).”
    Quote in the paperNot a substantial claim0 of 1 sources checked
    • cites Swan 2013 source

      Not checked in the free run.

83 of 83

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Public healthcare systems in the industrialized West are in crisis due to spiraling costs, an ageing population, and the rise of chronic diseases.

    “In recent decades, spiraling costs, an ageing population, and the rise of chronic diseases have propelled public healthcare systems in the industrialized West into crisis.”

  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The Quantified Self community and its meetings, presentations, and members' self-reports provide a valid and sufficiently representative basis for drawing conclusions about self-tracking for health practices in the move toward personalized healthcare.

    “based on observations and interviews carried out within the Quantified Self community of self-trackers at various meetings and international conferences between 2013 and 2015, where members demonstrate, describe, and discuss their self-tracking practices.”
    “Yet, for members of QS, and arguably for many selftrackers beyond QS, a crucial aspect of self-tracking is the opportunity to share their data with others and to participate in self-tracking communities of various sorts.”
2 of 2

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

12 of the 90 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 6

  1. ABI research (2013) Wearable computing devices, like Apple’s iWatch, will exceed 485 million annual shipments by 2018. Retrieved from https://www.abiresearch.com/press/wearable-computing-devices-like-apples-iwatch-will . Accessed 25.2.2015.
  2. Foreman, A., et al. (2011). Just text me: using SMS technology for collaborative patient mood charting. Journal of Participatory Medicine, 3, e45.
  3. Fox, S., & Duggan, M. (2013). Tracking for health. Washington, DC: Pew Research Center.
  4. Kelly, K. (2012) The quantified century. Retrieved from http://quantifiedself.com/conference/Palo-Alto-2012 .
  5. Nicolini, D. (2012). Practice theory, work, and organization. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  6. Swierstra, T. (2013). Nanotechnology and techno-moral change. Ethics & Politics, 15(1), 200–219.

Cited by

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Related

Authors
Sharon, T.
Affiliations
Maastricht University (NL)
Corresponding author
Sharon, Tamar
ORCID
Sharon, Tamar
Venue
Philosophy & Technology
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2016-04-18
Volume
30
Issue
1
Pages
93-121
ISSN
  • 2210-5433 (ISSN-L)
  • 2210-5441
DOI
10.1007/s13347-016-0215-5
OpenAlex
W2336246624
Semantic Scholar
e89806c2aa8bd4f6c425984beb8f61cd3d448cd8
Cited by
428
References
90
Citations by year
2026: 30 · 2025: 37 · 2024: 48 · 2023: 66 · 2022: 60 · 2021: 57 · 2020: 50 · 2019: 36 · 2018: 27 · 2017: 17
FWCI
26.44
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Philosophy & Technology (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Research Publications (Maastricht University) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Radboud Repository (Radboud University) (submittedVersion)
  • Research Publications (Maastricht University) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (275-20-050)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Ethics and bioethics in healthcare
  • Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Human-Computer Interaction › Innovative Human-Technology Interaction
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Mobile Health and mHealth Applications
Keywords
self-tracking, quantified self, personalized healthcare, autonomy, solidarity, authenticity, practice-oriented approach, clinical decision-making

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Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Claims read by deepseek-v4.1-flash under definition version 3 (extract-v3) on 2026-10-07.

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