Plenty of people are interested in the quantified self phenomenon, but will they stay that way? HealthMaker Aenor Sawyer, MD, talks in this video about the types of people who embrace the quantified self and who it's good for.
I think it depends on the individual. I think there are pockets of people that are early adopters that will try all kinds of things that come out, I think we're seeing now is that there's a drop off. There's a drop off in a lot of the apps where you're tracking and monitoring yourself and it surrounds the six month window.
There're some people who have done this for years, they've done it with all these multi-dimensional watches, etc., but I think that we are sorting out people who are sort of early interested tech adopters from people who are really going to be serious qualified self people. I think what should be done is access the people who are doing it for interest and for wellness from people who could use the same tools from quantified self into a prevention or a maintenance type health and wellness program.
Aenor Sawyer, MD, MS, is an orthopedic surgeon and assistant clinical professor at UCSF. Her work focuses on bone health from pediatrics to geriatrics, device innovation and digital health technology.
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