Exploring the tensions of self-tracking wearable technologies through design

In the last decade, the research interest in self-tracking practices mediated by wearable technologies has risen exponentially. A variety of contributions is focused on examining interaction modalities and user experiences to increase the usability and utility of such systems. However, several scholars are also committed to unveiling the inherent ethical, social and political implications of the self-tracking phenomenon, proposing an alternative perspective. Based on the review of contributions investigating polarities and issues in the landscape of self-tracking technologies, the current work proposes five interrelated tensions at play in the self-tracking domain. The tensions presented are allusion to objectivity and non-neutrality of numbers; trust in data and reliance on subjective experience; reductionism and complexity of lived phenomena; performance and wellbeing; and surveillance and self-surveillance. Rather than researching ways to avoid these tensions, the present contribution discusses the role that design may play in further exploring them. In particular, the paper illustrates studies leveraging speculative and critical design approaches to explore the ethical, political, and social issues of technologically-mediated self-tracking practices, as well as individuals’ relations with data, beyond conscious interaction.