Paper Reading - Self-Tracking to Do Less
Self-Tracking to Do Less
Author
Sarah Homewood, CHI 2023
Keywords
Self-Tracking, Phenomenology, Long COVID, COVID 19, Fitbit, Heart-rate monitor, Step counting, Post COVID-19 syndrome, pacing technologies, autoethnography, fitness tracking technologies
WHAT
- autoethnography of long COVID, using Fitbit
WHY
the extraordinary experience of living with a new illness
in line with a recent shift within the feld of HCI towards frst-person methodologies and phenomenological approaches
HOW
Autoethnography and self-tracking
Forlano: to capture, examine and communicate the sensorial and emotional richness and complexity of the experience of using a technological device during illness
tracking medical expertise, heart rate, step counting
notes app and voice memo
Method
3 synthesis
3 vignettes
Experimental Design
Fitbit Charge 4
heart rate data
mid-price and good reviews
tracking step-count, heart rate, sleep quality and menstrual cycle data
Cardiogram
- a finer grain of detail about heart rate
Vignette / Results
First Vignette
every time I went from sitting or lying down to standing up, the initial value of heart rate would slowly start increasing faster and faster
The value at the peak of this spike in heart rate shaped how I viewed the severity of my long COVID illness
the higher the value, the sicker I would see myself on that day
Second Vignette
3 months
10000 steps but flash of horror
limiting my daily activity was much more important to me than leading Fitbit’s defnition of a “healthy lifestyle”
using my Fitbit to set my walking pace
Third Vignette
15 months
cognitive symptoms were almost gone
exercise and physical exertion were the last hurdle
start increasing physical activity to avoid other health problems
use blue and orange zone to organise life
Living without needing to track was my defnition of full health
Discussion
Misuse of Self-Tracking Technologies
Modes of Pacing
The Design of Pacing Technologies
Relegating Interoceptive Information
Supporting Decision Making During Pacing
Understanding and Designing for Dynamic Illnesses