Mobile Digital Health Devices
The last few years have seen tremendous growth in the use of Internet-connected mobile devices that digitally monitor individuals’ health. These include not only the Fitbit and the Apple HealthKit but also a cornucopia of other wearable digital devices: implanted sensors that monitor blood glucose or medications; watches, athletic shoes, and wristbands that measure exercise activity, heart rate, or sleep patterns; and thousands of smartphone apps that monitor mood, calorie intake, and much more. Users can upload their data to a computer or the Internet and share it with doctors, family members, or online groups of fellow sufferers.
The benefits of these technologies are obvious. Individuals who track their calorie intake or exercise routines, for example, are more likely than those who do not meet their personal goals. Those who track danger signs (such as persons with diabetes who track blood glucose levels) may be able to treat themselves before a problem develops and avoid the need to seek medical care. And those who share their data with their health care providers may benefit when their providers notice early signs of a problem developing.
Yet mobile health devices also have a downside. First, they encourage us to trust digital measures more than our sense of our own body. Yet our intuitive judgments are sometimes correct, and our digital devices sometimes fail us. Second, these devices encourage us to believe that our health is fully under our own control, potentially stigmatizing any individual who falls ill or who does not (or cannot afford to) rely on digital health devices. Finally, many of these devices frequently remind individuals (via beeps, texts, or pop-up messages) to monitor their body or moods, take a specified action, or upload data. As a result, they can add to the burdens of illness by increasing anxiety, resentment, and the sense that one’s life has been overwhelmed by one’s illness.
