Why do people self-monitor & how do they use it to change their habits? What sorts of feelings & memories does it create? Here's some interesting stuff from the
Quantified Self blog (a community for people interested in tracking their own personal data):
While many of us have found that the common activity trackers function
as a kind of diary, with even the minimal traces of activity able to
spur our memories about what we’ve been up to, sometimes they record
data that is mysterious. For instance, the graph below show’s Eric’s
highest activity day. “I do not know what I doing during the three hours
when I clocked most of the steps, but it wasn’t walking,” he reports.
Here's
a survey of Quantified Self members, which includes some relevant demographic data.
Demographics & Basics
Age distribution: mean = 36.2 years old, youngest = 23 years old, oldest = 74 years old
Gender distribution: 67% male / 33% female
Currently working in a QS related company or have created a QS tool: 30%
Members who have a chronic health issue: 70%
What Tools Are You Using?
The top 10 most used tools were: Mint, Personal
GoogleDoc/spreadsheet, Other, Foursquare, 23andMe, Fitbit, Runkeeper,
Zeo, MyFitnessPal, and Goodreads with the Nike+ Fuelband and Lift just
missing the top 10.
Data Sharing & Privacy
Privacy is still important. Only 49% of respondents share their data
with anyone and only 27% of respondents said they were ‘vey open’ to
sharing their data with others.
Share data with someone else: 51%
Share data with a spouse/partner: 39%
Share data with a health professional: 14%