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Hot take: all these body tracking apps do almost nothing to actually help you be healthy or improve your life, and the only reason that people feel a need to us

by zwkrt 5y ago

Hot take: all these body tracking apps do almost nothing to actually help you be healthy or improve your life, and the only reason that people feel a need to use them is because advertising has convinced them that it is “part of a healthy diet”. Whether or not they invade your privacy, they reduce your idea of your health to a set of numbers that are divorced from the actual reality of your life and your overall wellbeing. Just abstain!

Broken_Hippo 5y ago
That's not the case here, and it is probably prudent not to simply dismiss tracking apps if they are things you'd need/want to track anyway. While tracking your monthly cycle won't necessarily make you healthier, there are a number of ways it keeps you healthy and improves your life. This sort of tracking is one folks have been doing since well before we generally had internet: I was told back in middle school in the late 80s and early 90s, for example, that I should track it. Not everyone does it, but most of the folks that don't will do so if they are doing things like trying to get pregnant, know when their mood will change, or are having other issues. I'm pretty sure that menstruation issues are the real thing that lowers your overall wellbeing. I've experienced this very thing, and I've needed the dates when things have gone wrong... or simply when I have had to go to the hospital/doctors, since they always seem to ask when I first started my last period. Something on your phone simply makes it easier, especially since most folks take their phones into the bathroom with them from time to time. I just use a notetaking app, though, mostly due to privacy.
drakonka 5y ago
This is a very broad generalization that doesn't actually seem to be accurate. We know that there are benefits to tracking your blood pressure at home, for example[0]. In addition, and closer to the topic in the original link, there are simply concrete benefits (ie: birth control) to an app like Natural Cycles[1], which involves tracking your temperature and period in an app. I understand that for some people this type of additional option may be difficult to appreciate, especially if you're not a potential user. It requires a lot of discipline: taking your temp consistently and at just the right time. But for women who might not be interested in or respond well to hormonal birth control, it can be an invaluable tool. Even for normal period tracking apps: tracking one's period _can_ be useful. It can help to monitor fluctuations that would otherwise easily go unnoticed for longer than they need to. I've had friends who missed very early or late periods for months before they realized their schedule was off and that it might be something they should see a doctor about. In conclusion, this "all apps/tracking health data is useless" sentiment that gets thrown around so commonly does not really seem to be in touch with reality. [0] https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/how-to-monitor-and-lower-your-blood-pressure-at-home https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/how-to-monitor-a... [1] https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-allows-marketing-first-direct-consumer-app-contraceptive-use-prevent-pregnancy https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-allo...
C19is20 5y ago
Wahoo, strava, intervals.icu, hrv4t, kubios, elitehrv, ..I'm better than I was, excuse I know where I was.

by zwkrt 5y ago

Broken_Hippo 5y ago

That's not the case here, and it is probably prudent not to simply dismiss tracking apps if they are things you'd need/want to track anyway. While tracking your monthly cycle won't necessarily make you healthier, there are a number of ways it keeps you healthy and improves your life. This sort of tracking is one folks have been doing since well before we generally had internet: I was told back in middle school in the late 80s and early 90s, for example, that I should track it. Not everyone does it, but most of the folks that don't will do so if they are doing things like trying to get pregnant, know when their mood will change, or are having other issues. I'm pretty sure that menstruation issues are the real thing that lowers your overall wellbeing. I've experienced this very thing, and I've needed the dates when things have gone wrong... or simply when I have had to go to the hospital/doctors, since they always seem to ask when I first started my last period. Something on your phone simply makes it easier, especially since most folks take their phones into the bathroom with them from time to time. I just use a notetaking app, though, mostly due to privacy.

drakonka 5y ago

This is a very broad generalization that doesn't actually seem to be accurate. We know that there are benefits to tracking your blood pressure at home, for example[0]. In addition, and closer to the topic in the original link, there are simply concrete benefits (ie: birth control) to an app like Natural Cycles[1], which involves tracking your temperature and period in an app. I understand that for some people this type of additional option may be difficult to appreciate, especially if you're not a potential user. It requires a lot of discipline: taking your temp consistently and at just the right time. But for women who might not be interested in or respond well to hormonal birth control, it can be an invaluable tool. Even for normal period tracking apps: tracking one's period _can_ be useful. It can help to monitor fluctuations that would otherwise easily go unnoticed for longer than they need to. I've had friends who missed very early or late periods for months before they realized their schedule was off and that it might be something they should see a doctor about. In conclusion, this "all apps/tracking health data is useless" sentiment that gets thrown around so commonly does not really seem to be in touch with reality. [0] https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/how-to-monitor-and-lower-your-blood-pressure-at-home https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/how-to-monitor-a... [1] https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-allows-marketing-first-direct-consumer-app-contraceptive-use-prevent-pregnancy https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-allo...

C19is20 5y ago

Wahoo, strava, intervals.icu, hrv4t, kubios, elitehrv, ..I'm better than I was, excuse I know where I was.