Living By the Numbers

Colin Hogan
crhogan@smu.edu

When Jenn Pierce ventures out for a morning run, she feels like she has a personal trainer by her side. Thanks to the tracking device built into her shoes, she is able focus on the running itself, confident that all of data from her run is being recorded: Miles run, time elapsed, calories burned, average pace, number of steps taken.

When she’s done, she grabs a Gatorade, sits down at her computer, and plugs in. Within seconds, Pierce is able to begin analyzing the results from her run. The program she uses comes with a convenient interface that lays out the details of the day’s performance, allowing her to map out her progress over time.

“I didn’t have to keep track of anything in my mind, it would do it for me,” Pierce said.

The world of mobile applications and self-tracking software is growing. Hundreds of programs like Your Ideal Weight, Virtual Trainer, and Gamerdna now make it easier than ever to track yourself and record your habits. Pierce uses Nike Plus.

The most popular site for many of these technologies, Apple’s App Store, recently logged its one-billionth download. Propelled by the widespread popularity of smart phones, combined with consumers’ desire for self-improvement, more and more people are turning to technology to keep them focused on their goals.

“It’s motivating because you can quickly see the progress,” said Joseph Camp, an assistant professor of engineering at SMU who is researching ways to improve the intelligence of portable devices.

One of the more popular applications offered through iTunes is Weight Tracker. SMU junior Brooke Keating downloaded the application after someone in her family showed her how he was using it to stay healthy.

After inputting your current weight, age, and gender, the application asks you about your fitness routine in order to get an idea of your metabolism. Then it assigns the user a calorie limit for the day, which varies based on how quickly you want to gain or lose weight.

“I think it’s helpful,” Keating said. “It made me conscious of what I was eating everyday and how often I was working out.”

After using the application for a few days, however, she grew tired of the chore of inputting her weight each morning.

“It depends on the person,” said Keating. “For me, I was just testing it out- I’m not a very OCD person. If I were more obsessed with results, I maybe would have stayed with it, but I’m not like that.”

But for those who make a living on their ability to achieve results in body image, the use of mobile applications is a convenient way to track individual progress. Personal trainer Jan Billhartz of Dallas began using her iPhone in her daily work routine last June. She mostly uses the device to refresh her memory about the nutritional content of certain foods. Last week, a client was asking about calcium and Billhartz simply pulled up an application that listed different foods based on their calcium levels.

“When you have it all there, it just makes it easier,” she said.

Most of the time, Billhartz relies on the LiveStrong iPhone application, which allows users to look up nutritional content and keep a digital diary of their daily calorie intake. It also allows users to track the calories they burn through exercise by subtracting them from their daily log.

“Before my iPhone, I would read books, lots and lots of books,” said Billhartz. “I would keep articles and magazines. This [application] gives me the information at my fingertips. It’s more accessible.”

But self-tracking technology isn’t just for those who want to get into shape. Websites such as Rupture and Gamerdna allow gamers to track their activities and accomplishments through various video games and then displays them on his or her social networking profile. Although users are competitive, one expert sees it as more of an excuse for social interaction among like-minded gamers.

“It’s not so much about their game play, but as social networking has progressed, people who are passionate about certain topics and subjects form their own communities,” said Chris Petrovic, head of digital strategy for GameStop Corporation, which is based in Grapevine, Texas. “In this case, high scores are the social currency.”

Yet not everyone places value on being able to know the exact caloric composition of his food or how many aliens he has killed in Halo 3. Some take the position that these technologies can lead to obsession.

“I think it’s retarded,” said SMU senior Kelly Pearson. “We lived without all those things in the past so I really don’t think we need it now.”

She is concerned about this trend and worries that people will become so self-involved that they will forget to look outside of themselves. Pearson also noted that while people are spending more time on their mobile phones, they are now reading fewer books.

“We have all these people who are obsessive with their weight or other things and this just gives them one more way to overly monitor themselves,” said Pearson.

Professor Camp believes that in the future, self-tracking technologies will become even smarter. This will allow programs to provide users with feedback in simpler, often more effective ways. So instead of having to analyze data on a chart, the applications will provide more simple communications.

“If a screen of zeros and ones come up, that doesn’t mean anything to you, but if a message flashed onto the screen that said you’re spending too much time sitting down, that’s relevant,” said Camp.