There’s Jawbone’s Up, 23andMe, Xero, Fitbit, Do It! Geotags, CloudOn, CheckMark, MakeMe and a million other gadgets and apps designed to help us keep track of our own lives.
Everything under the sun is covered…genetic profiles, sleeping patterns, our moods, our heart rate, our temperature, our calories, how many steps we’ve taken today, how long we’ve been idle, what we’ve spent our money on, where we took that photo, what we should like in music and food, what’s best for our motivation, what inspires us and everything else…really…everything from our diets and fitness to our thoughts and practices. If you can think of it, there’s a piece of software designed to help you keep track of it.
Granted there are countless advantages that people can realise by using these gadgets and apps but is it just me or are we all taking our lives a little too seriously? Why do we feel the need to keep track of so much? Is it to connect and share with others who have tracked their own similar tendencies and habits? Is it all about the pure data? Or is it that we need somebody [or something] else to tell us what we’re already doing?
Perhaps it is the information we gather about ourselves that makes it so attractive. Data rules, it informs, it allows us to make educated decisions based on trends and likely outcomes. It empowers us. Like Narcissus in Greek mythology who fell in love with his own reflection, we have fallen in love with our own data.
If you need the data, it can be collected, measured and communicated in any way you like.
Keeping track of ourselves has never been easier.