Wearable Computing and the Hype of Tracking Personal Activity

Wearable computing is a branch of embodied technology concerned with devices and gadgets that are worn in or on the human body. Wearable computing is a fast growing hot trend in the device industry today. This paper will look at wearable consumer devices that track and quantify personal activity with the goal of motivating consumers to exercise more, be more active and lead an overall healthier lifestyle. This paper explores some of the features that activity tracker devices adopt to motivate users to exercise, the potential impact of the devices on health insurance costs, what medical professionals think of it and how the activity trackers industry is shaping. The potential problems of using activity trackers such as privacy concerns and exercise addiction are explored as well.