To Live is to Keep Track: Self-tracking and the Price of Finding the True Self

5/24/2018 To Live is to Keep Track: Self-tracking and the Price of Finding the True Self

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To Live is toKeep Track.

Self-tracking and the Price of

Finding the True Self.

Sophie Uesson


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To Live is to Keep Track.Self-tracking and the Price ofFinding the True Self.

So hie UessonMA Thesis Digital Media Goldsmiths, University of London

2013

A Foucauldian perspective on self-tracking: The thin line between becoming one with the trueand natural body by optimisation, and becoming a slave under the norms and power structures

of society.

[email protected]

@shoffis
mailto:[email protected]:[email protected]


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edit 2014

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Acknowledgements

I would like to thank my supervisor,Professor Jo-

anna Zylinskafor her enthusiastic encouragement

throughout the MA and dissertation period. Her

inspiring lectures about biopolitics, biotechnology

and bioethics, has most certainly broadened my

ideas and opened up my mind.

I am grateful towards my lovely MA colleagues,

Maria Joo, Vanora, Sara and Tu!rul with whom

I have shared many interesting discussions regar-

ding technology and new media.

Finally, I would like to thank my wonderful mot-

her, father and sister who have supported and en-

couraged me throughout this philosophically chal-

lenging year.

Big love to Wille who never stops believing in me.

And a special thought goes to my fantastic grand-mother Jane, who always encouraged me to never

stop learning since nobody can take knowledge

away from you, and who made this year in Lon-

don happen.
http://www.joannazylinska.net/http://www.joannazylinska.net/http://www.joannazylinska.net/http://www.joannazylinska.net/


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Introduction

You were awoken by Jawbone Up at 07.12 after 6 hours and 14

minutes of sleep with a sleep quality of 67 percent. Your egg

sandwich, which you had for breakfast on the go, contained463 calories. Since you swallowed the last bite of your sand-

wich you have taken 1457 steps, as well as cycled for 23 minu-

tes to work, burning 146 calories in total.

This is a normal start of the day for many self-trackers. Every

minute of their life is monitored, recorded and analysed, resul-

ting in insights which are used to alter, transform and en-

hance their identity (Blackman, 2008), often but not always,

with the hope to one day decipher their true self and the true

human. Self-tracking is not new, it traces back to Greek and

Christian culture where regimen was seen as either an act crea-

ted through moral conduct from dominating powers above or

through ethical ideals from below, through the self. Based on

this, I am curious as to whether modern self-tracking is an act

based on moral conduct and social obligation towards

humanity developed through powers of domination, or simply

an ethical and liberating act towards oneself.

Though the individual may feel as if, through tracking, they

are creating new kinds of identities, what defines these identi-

ties as new and not simply replicas of the norms around

them? Can the tracking of calories and the pursuit for a slimbody ideal be seen as an isolated act towards oneself or is it

simply an act of self-regulating domination, performed by the

individual to fit into the hegemonic norm? Since liberation

and domination co-exist and co-emerge (Kember&Zylinska,

2012) within the same power relations that create the discour-

se and norms concerning health and the body - can a subject

be autonomous and have true agency?

My focus throughout my dissertation will thus be on self-track-

ing within health and fitness and how the self-tracker relates

to the technology in terms of producing and resisting norms

of identity. I find this especially interesting due to the quick

growth of the market.

The U.S. sports and fitness category within electronics was, ac-

cording to Consumer Electronics Association in 2012, a $70

billion business (Quart, 2013). According to a report by mar-

ket firm ABI, an estimated 485 million wearable computing

devices will be released annually by 2018, of which 61 percent

will be fitness or activity related (Ramirez&Wolf, 2013). What

drives consumers to track their own health and what implica-

tions might the tracking have in terms of health norms and bo-

dy ideals?

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This brings me to my research question:

To what extent do new technologies of health monito-

ring and self-tracking produce docile bodies in the se-

arch of a 'true self'?

I have chosen to write about self-tracking and health monito-

ring as I find it interesting that a phenomenom which has ex-

isted since the Greek epoch is suddenly reborn in a new

technological shape, creating a market with big potentials.

Without reflecting on the implications which this new techno-

logy may have on them, individuals adapt to the process of

self-tracking, some during a set time for instance while they

jog, and others 24/7, even when they sleep. The production of

identity and norms is a longstanding interest of mine and

when I downloaded Movesapp, an appwhich tracks move-

ments, steps taken, transport by bus/car/train, cycling, as well

as give you an account of the places you have been to throug-

hout the day, I noticed a change in my behavior. The app itself

did not present a recommend step count to me but I knew

from friends and articles about health a.k.a the norm that

10.000 steps per day was recommended, which correlated

well with my daily walk back and forth from the train station

where my train to uni departs. However, I noted that I got anx-

ious about my steps on the days that I did not go to uni.

Instead of taking the bus if I was going somewhere, I started

walking. 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 40 minutes, until I reached

10.000 steps or more. At the same time I joined a bootcamp

group which started out with an appointment to get measu-

red. The instructor weighed me in, measured the percentage

of body fat and took measurements of my body, thighs, arms

and so on. Four weeks later I was going to be measured once

again which resulted in a constant reflection about my food in-

take and exercise. I felt that it was good for me, but I also felt

trapped and limited by it - which resulted in my research

question about docile bodies.

In my literature review I introduce the reader to the definition

of self-tracking, as well as give the reader a background histo-

ry of regimen and the tracking of diet and exercise, based on

Greek and Christian culture. I furthermore explain how identi-

ties are created through theories of Hall, Bolter & Grusin, Bau-

man and Foucault, and explore how technologies of domina-

tion and technologies of the self are used in order to createidentities and truths. As I focus on health tracking I describe

the powers within the discourse of diet and how body ideals

are produced through these powers. Finally I analyse how di-

scipline is used within the discourse of fitness.

In order to explore self-tracking and the construction of identi-

ties I have chosen to research the tracking device Jawbone Up

in my case study, since it is a device which is supposed to beused 24/7 and has the possibility to track many parameters at

once, from sleep to food intake. I have analysed the company

website and reviews of the product as well as read blogs and

articles where individuals involved in self-tracking have ex-

pressed their experiences using Jawbone Up and similar de-

vices. By the beginning of my research I considered underta-

king interviews with self-trackers, but after attending a Quanti-

5
http://www.moves-app.com/http://www.moves-app.com/http://www.moves-app.com/http://www.moves-app.com/


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fied Self meetup I understood that the information provi-

ded and discussed within the community was similar to

the blog posts that I had previously read on the topic, with

many of these blog posts written by people within the com-

munity. Since the technology around the concept of health

monitoring and self-tracking is a rather new invention

with a limited amount of books written about it, I decided,

together with my tutor, to do qualitative textual analysis

and analyse the content of news articles, blog posts and re-

search papers.

Enjoy the reading and please bear in mind that this thesis

was written in 2013 and edited in 2014 with a much more

developed market as well as a new Jawbone Up24 on the

market.

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Litterature Review

The datasexual looks a lot like you and me, but

whats different is their preoccupation with perso-

nal data. They are relentlessly digital, they obsessi-vely record everything about their personal lives,

and they think that data is sexy... Their lives from a

data perspective, at least are perfectly groomed.

(Basulto, 2012)

Defining Self-tracking and Health Monitoring.

Self-tracking or life logging is the act of monitoring, recording

and keeping track of data about ones own body and beha-

viour, also described as self knowledge through numbers

(Quantified Self, 2013). The tracking may be done by simply

keeping notes or writing a diary about ones behaviour and li-

fe, and often includes tracking of sleep, diet and exercise.

However, a common way to keep track today is through

ubiquitous devices and smart phone apps which automatically

capture the data for the individual, without the need to press a

button to record. An example of such devices are Nike+ Fuel-

Band, Jawbone Up or Fitbit, which are all wearable devices

collecting data, such as sleep curves, steps or calories from in-

dividuals. Invididuals who track themselves are known as life-

loggers, self-trackers or quantified selfers and often, but not

always, start their tracking with a goal in mind which they aim

to reach. This goal is frequently connected to progress related

to health, either in terms of losing weight or gaining insights

from specific data collected.

A recent study by Pew Research Center Internet & American

Life Project showed that 60 percent of adults in the U.S aretracking their weight, diet or exercise routine and 34 percent

of self-trackers said that their data discoveries had changed a

health decision which they had taken (Norris, 2012). Although

an analysis conducted (Cornell, 2010) within the quantified

self community, in 2010 showed that 80 percent of the indivi-

duals who are active in discussions and create content are

men compared to 20 percent of women, women are more like-

ly (18 percent of women compared to 13 percent men) to tracktheir weight, diet and exercise schedules. In addition, 21 per-

cent of all women, also tend to track some other health indica-

tor online compared to 12 percent of men (Fox, 2012).

The increasing popularity of self-tracking during the last five

years is, according to Gary Wolf, founder of the Quantified

Self movement, connected to four factors; the decreased size

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and increased quality of electronic sensors, the sensors ubiqui-

ty when entering the smartphone, social media which has ma-

de sharing seem normal and the increased ability to store data

provided by the cloud (Wolf, 2010). However, the notion of

self-tracking is not new, although new technology such as wea-

rable technology, ubiquitous devices and mobile apps has af-

fected the way self-tracking is applied and made the concept

popular to the public.

Health tracking, such as dieting and keeping track of food inta-

ke traces back to the Victorian era when the act of dieting, the

denial of food, arose among aristocrats as a way for individu-

als to pursue an aesthetic body (Bordo, 1993:185). Dieting

had been practised in other cultures before; by Greek aristo-

crats as a way of self-mastery and by Christians through fas-ting as a spiritual purification. It was seen as an instrument

for the development of a self (Bordo, 1993:185) and as a way

to reach human excellence (Bordo, 1993: ibid), reserved for

aristocrats and priests, who were seen as the only ones capab-

le to reach this excellence.

The Book VI of the Epidemics shows traces of self-tracking,

which emphasizes on everything that needed to be measured(Foucault&Hurley, 1990:101); food, drinks, exercise, sleep and

sexual relations were kept track of. The regimen was followed

through daily routines which started in the morning and en-

ded late at night, often problematising all activities in life and

creating a situation where the concern with the body was cen-

tral at all times. Individuals were told to observe themselves

by making notes about their consumption and exercise in or-

der to be able to regulate and maintain good health. Foucault

(Foucault&Hurley, 1990:107) argued that regimen rather than

acting upon the body with medications and operations, add-

ressed itself to the soul and was an active practice of the rela-

tion to the self. Regimen was a way to manage and maintain a

good health, as well as taking care of the soul (Foucault&Hur-

ley, 1990:101). In the late nineteenth century, dieting and bo-

dy management moved down to lower classes, and fat rather

than desire or appetite was seen as the enemy (Bordo, 1993).

Scales and weight thus became the way to measure progress,

rather than self-mastery, (Bordo, 1993) which might be seen

as the first time numerical data came to play an important ro-

le as a way of controlling the self. New technologies to reach

the ideal body came into use, ranging from dieting and exerci-

se to using chemicals and performing surgery.

One common hope among selftrackers, as explained by Wolf,

is that numbers might eventually reveal a deeper inner truth

about who we really are, what we really want, and where we

really ought to be. Due to this, many self-trackers actively

choose not to set up a specific goal when they start, and belie-

ve that the data and numbers will reveal secrets that they do

not know about themselves (Wolf, 2010). Wolf claims that hu-mans lack the instruments to understand who we are, and

with the help of new machines which can track all our desires

and wants, we can find our true self and act rationally. If only

we get the technology right, numbers might reveal a core and

stable self (Morozov, 2013:232).

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The Search for The Truth - Pilgrimage of Life.

The search for the true self is comparable to pilgrimage, where identity is

used as a cover and an escape from uncertainty of where one belongs, in the

quest for the truth which always lies some distance and time away (Bau-

man, 1996:19). Identity is a projection of what is expected and demanded

from us. As pilgrimage is a way to achieve anonymity and to lose identity,present life is considered a pathway of achievements in the wait for future

gratification and eternal endurance of the soul. During modernity, while se-

arching for the truth, the pilgrim had to make sure to construct an identity

which was solid and stable (Bauman, 1996). However, this changed drasti-

cally during post-modernity, also known by Bauman (1996) as liquid moder-

nity, towards a concern about how to keep the identity flexible and avoid fix-

ation. If modernity concerned creation and durability, post-modernity va-

lued recycling and avoidance of commitment, where identity is being refa-shioned and reconstructed (Bauman, 1996:18).

Rather than seeing the body as something individuals have and are, post-

modernity meant seeing what bodies could do and become (Blackman,

2008:1). Since the individual was not trusted to search for identity on their

own, experts of guidance such as coaches, trainers and counsellors were the-

re to give their advice, which often resulted in dependence of their guidance

(Bauman, 1996:19).

The process of self-tracking is comparable to the pilgrims desert, which is a

land of self-creation, functioning as a distance between the pilgrim and the

daily duties that blocks him or her from the truth. In the same way, self-

tracking works as a place and pathway for self-creation, with our own data

and fitness coaches there to guide us towards the true self existing in the ho-

rizon. Bauman (1996) mentions how cities and places function as boundari-

9

Modern man...is not

the man who goes off to

discover himself, his

secrets and his hidden

truth; he is the man

who tries to invent

himself. This modernity

does not liberate man

in his own being; it

compels him to face the

task of producing

himself

(Foucault 1984c:42)


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es between the pilgrim and the truth, since they make the pil-

grim relax and forget about striving forward. In order to conti-

nue the journey forward and not fear that the work has been in

vain it is important to keep record of past achievements, foot-

printsand journeys, as well as seeing future progress.The notion of fitness is seen by Bauman (1996) as a way to keepidentity stable, which may be the case for individuals who work

out in order to maintain their body weight and muscle mass.

So, with the technology of health monitoring and tracking of fit-

ness achievements, do individuals apply the concept of pilgri-

mage to their exercise and bodies?

The tracking of progress is built into apps and devices such as

Runkeeper and Jawbone, which reward the individual whene-

ver they make progress leading to a change of their current

identity. Someone who wants to find out why they are tired in

the morning, might for instance gain insights about the reason

behind it through self-tracking. Data may show that their pro-

ductivity level peaks in the afternoon, which reveals a new and

true identity to the individual. This constant monitoring, track-

ing and setting up new goals forces the individual to conti-

nuously refashion or remediate themselves, which may be done

through self-improvement, dieting or plastic surgery. The indi-

vidual thus refuses to stick to a certain identity since through

the eyes of a pilgrim, the true identity lies ahead (Bauman,

1996). Another way of understanding the behaviour of self-

tracking, especially the sharing process of it, is to acknowledge

it as a way for individuals to show their uniqueness in the

world through data based on individuality (Morozov, 2013).

Instead of securing who we are based on feelings and words,

numbers reassure who we are. If our data is not unique, the

wrong indicators are measured (Morozov, 2013:233234).

The Construction of Identities - Fixed and Fluid?

The common debates around identity within social theory revol-

ve around the perception of identity as either being fixed and

pre-determined or flowing and constructed (Hall, 1992). The tra-

ditional view of the subject deriving from the Enlightenment was

that the subject carried its identity, the persons self, as an inner

core which was unfolded, and discovered as the subject develo-

ped. The opposite of a fixed identity, similar to Baumans theory

of identity, derives from the neglectance of an autonomous prede-

termined self and the belief that the subject is developed in rela-

tion to significant others (Hall, 1992:276). The subject is a form

rather than a substance, possessing both a future and a history

(OLeary, 2002: 110). Bolter & Grusin (2000) similarly believe

that an identity is always mediated (understood through the me-

dia around us) and remediated when it changes or evolves, since

we always understand a particular medium in relation to other

past and present media (pp.231). The self exists either through

immediacy, for instance in a virtual environment where the indi-

vidual has the freedom to alter oneself, or through hyperme-

diacy, in a shifting network of affiliations (Bolter&Grusin,

2000:232).

The creation of identity is a process where domination and libera-

tion interact to shape the identity simultaneously through

technologies of domination and technologies of the self. Accor-

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ding to Foucault, there is no substantial self or centre of free

will behind the moral behaviour of individuals, as the subject is

created in the intersection of the power/truth/self triangle

(OLeary, 2002:109). An identity is thus not only a subject in

control of its own creation of what it means to be human. It is

also an object being shaped by its context where processes of

domination and liberation take place, creating discourses andnorms of truth, which we (individuals) follow whether we want

to or not.

To Foucault (1984a), there is no sovereign, founding subject, a

universal form of subject to be found everywhere (p.733), since

we are all part of producing the subject ourselves. The idea of a

subject that is free to make its own decisions is replaced by the

idea of being forcibly tied to a particular imposed identity(OLeary, 2002: 109110), through invisible power structures.

Since the self is not given to us...there is only one practical con-

sequence: we have to create ourselves as a work of art

(Foucault, 1984b:350-351), a process which individuals might

do through self-tracking and the altering and enhancement of

identity.

However, the creation of ourselves and control of ones own da-

ta and behaviour does not free individuals from subjectivation

or subjection. Subjectivation is the process which transforms

individuals into subjects, which happens through a range of po-

wer/knowledge/self practices (OLeary, 2002:108). Such know-

ledge may evolve around forms of sexual identity to the ways

in which we are brought to embrace the ideals of our sociocultu-

ral milieux (OLeary, 2002: 108), to the ideal of a healthy body.

Subjectivity and these internal and external processes of domina-

tion take place simultaneously, either imposed on individuals by

themselves or by others in the surrounding - in many situations

without individuals taking notice of them. The process of subjecti-

vation automatically produces a subject in two senses (OLeary,

2002), as it is subject to someone else by control and dependen-

ce as well as tied to his own identity by a conscience or selfknow-ledge (Foucault, 1982:781). These modes of subjectivity affect

and determine our epistemology, in the way we are, behave and

think.

As a way to resist, the individual is presented to freedom and libe-

ration as an alternative to overturn power (Blackman, 2008) but

one is always less free than one imagines (OLeary, 2002:110)

and when someone is told to liberate themselves it is the effect ofsubjectivation which he or she should liberate herself from (OLe-

ary, 2002). Therefore, in order for subjects to gain knowledge

about their true self they have to pay the price of being (self)con-

stituted as a particular kind of subject ... the price of being tied

(by oneself and others) to a particular identity (OLeary,

2002:113).

Applying this to self-tracking would mean that the process of

tracking data ties individuals into certain kind of identities,

through dominating powers expressed as ideals and norms

which the individuals try to achieve. Although these processes of

power function simultaneously, I have decided to explain them

separately; technologies of domination and technologies of the

self.

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Technologies of Domination - The Management of Citizens.

Foucault researched how knowledge about being human is created and re-

produced through three modes of objectification; scientific classification,

dividing practices and subjectivation (Foucault, 1988a). People are through

these modes classified, disciplined and normalised by social processes

known as technologies of power (Foucault, 1988a:18) which people havelittle or no control over (Markula, Denison & Pringle, 2006:24). Technologi-

es of power analyse the behaviour of individuals and uses this analysis in or-

der to divide them into certain groups (Foucault, 1988a). One sort of power

is the knowledge of humans, which categorizes the individual, marks him

by his own individuality, attaches him to his own identity, imposes a law of

truth on him which he must recognise and which others have to recognise in

him (Foucault, 1983: 212). This in turn makes the individual a subject, as

explained previously, tied to someone else by control and to his or her ownidentity by a conscience or self-knowledge (Foucault, 1983:212).

Power is, according to Foucault (1983) not a material entity which can be

possessed by individuals. It is exercised, existing in action everywhere

and in between things (p.217). This means that there is no certain ordering

principle connected to power, which makes it possible not only to be repres-

sive but also productive. Biopower or disciplinary power, a term founded by

Foucault to describe the power practiced by modern nation states, is diffe-

rent to the power brought out by a strict ruling state, such as a dictatorship,

since the dominating powers act through implemented norms rather than

laws and rules (Blackman, 2008).

Power produces, it produces reality; it produces domains and objects and

rituals of truths (Foucault, 1979:194), thus making it impossible to analyse

who owns power. A more helpful approach is rather to analyse how power is

12

If one wants to analyse

the genealogy of subject

in Western civilization,

one has to take into

account not only

techniques of

domination, but also

techniques of the self

(Foucault, 1990:367)


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exercised in every relationship around

us.

By creating a universal classification,

knowledge and truth of what it means

to be a human, Foucault argues that hu-

man sciences function as a power whichcategorise and control individuals, thus

objectifying the individual. The power

of objectification creates clinical results

such as dyslectics, diabetics and schi-

zophrenics (MarkulaDenison & Pringle,

2006).

The result of such dividing

practices and the develop-

ment of institutions such as

prisons and hospitals, is

that individuals are divided

into healthy or unhealthy, cri-

minal or non-criminal and nor-

mal and abnormal (Foucault, 1983:

208), resulting in oppressive relations

between doctors and patients as well

as scientists and subjects (MarkulaDe-

nison & Pringle, 2006: 26).

Many common practices, such as time-

tabling, collective training, exercises, to-

tal and detailed surveillance and the

continual monitoring, assessment and

comparison ... [of people] ... in relation

to particular norms of behavior and con-

duct (Blackman, 2008:25-26), which we

nowadays are familiar with at work pla-

ces and schools were once upon a time

founded in prisons and monasteries.Through controlling the characteristics

and activities of a body, as well as super-

vising this activity or process and forcing

a relation of docility-utility, discipline was

created (Foucault, 1984d:181). These discip-

linary practices strengthen the notion of

the disciplined and docile body, a body

known as ...an unfinished entity that can

be sculpted, moulded, altered and transfor-

med (Blackman, 2008:26). The body is se-en as an object and a target of po-

wer[which is] manipulated, shaped, trai-ned [into a body which] obeys, responds,

becomes skilful and increases its forces

(Foucault, 1984d:180).

Rather than producing laws and re-

gulations through a unified appa-ratus of domination (McNay,

1992:68) the modern state uses

disciplinary powers through net-

works of regulations and institu-

tions, a term which Foucault calls

governmentality. Through governing

techniques, such as stimulating birthrates

or extending life expectancy by improvingthe overall health of the population, the so-

vereign regulates (McNay, 1992:68) and

focuses on the management of life of indi-

viduals and citizens (Zylinska, 2009:93).

As the state does not only target the popula-

tion as a whole but also the individuals, a

13

The historical moment of the disciplines was

the moment when an art of the human body

was born, which was directed not only at the

growth of its skills, or at the intensification of

its subjection, but at the formation of a

relation that in the mechanism itself makes it

more obedient as it becomes more useful and

conversely (Foucault, 1984d:182)


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way to stay free is through techniques of self-government

(McNay, 1992:68).

An example of a practice used by the sovereign to manage bodi-

es and control citizens is the invention of the calorie in America

in the 1890s as a measurement of food supply, indicating the

health and wealth of nations. Rather than measuring food supp-ly by counting bags of wheat or potatoes, the government could

achieve a more exact knowledge through counting bags of calo-

ries. The measurements gave the U.S a knowledge about a na-

tions wealth, through the deficit or surplus of food, thus ma-

king it easier to know and control which nations were in need

of food packages. The restricted food supply meant that nations

needed to control citizens consumption, this time through calo-

rie counting and strict calorie quotas. Knowledges and truthsabout a recommended calorie intake were produced by scien-

tists and doctors who were known to have knowledge within

the field of health.

A recommended daily calorie intake still exists and is still used

within political debates, shown by for example UKs Chief Medi-

cal Officer Sally Davies who in 2011 claimed that in order to

decrease obesity in the UK, the population had to slash five billi-

on calories a day. Ironically, when asked, many doctors cannot

explain how a calorie is measured, or even if it is a valid measu-

rement for the human body (Dillon, 2011).

The Construction of Truths - Losing Weight is Good for

Your Health, True or False?

Different historical periods have brought different rules, under-

standings and truths, known by Foucault as epistemes or an epis-

temological field of a specific time period

(Markula&Pringle:2006:27). Knowledge and truths emergingfrom the human sciences are used as a disciplinary power becau-

se of the way in which it is used to regulate and normalise indivi-

duals (Danaher et al., 2000:26), through processes and policies

which determine who is healthy or not. Knowledge thus legitima-

tes the use of power (Danaher et al., 2000).

Human sciences could be considered as specific games of truth

that, at times, undergo abrupt rule changes

(Markula&Pringle:2006:27). For instance, the epistemes and

what was considered normal during the Renaissance would most

likely not be considered normal during the Exploration Age. Sin-

ce knowledge is always subject to certain epistemic conditions

and truth is always a partial, localised version of reality (Rail,

1998:183-184) it can never be constructed objectively. The indivi-

dual human can in the same manner not be considered free, sin-

ce it is the effect of the workings of power (Markula&Pringle,

2006:28) and the epistemes shape the workings and emergence

of discourse in the human sciences (Markula&Pringle, 2006:29).

Foucault described discourse as statements that coalesce within

specific social contexts and have some particular meaning or ef-

fect (Markula&Pringle, 2006:29).

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The effect is how phenomena, such as the production of ob-

jects, subjects or conceptual understandings are produced

(Markula&Pringle, 2006:29).

At the same time as objects emerge, a discourse of the objects

emerge as well. Within fitness, the discourse which I examine

through the practice of self-tracking and health monitoring, arunner should thus not be defined as a fixed subject of a run-

ner since it is also a subject to the workings of various discour-

ses that shape their identities (Markula&Pringle, 2006:30) as

runners. Rather than viewing discourses as groups of signs (sig-

nifying elements referring to contents or representations)

(Foucault, 1972:49) they should be understood as practices

that systematically form the objects of which they speak

(Foucault, 1972:ibid). They are practices that shape percep-tions of reality (Markula&Pringle, 2006:31) rather than a simp-

le translation between reality and language (Markula&Pringle,

2006:ibid).

Technologies of The Self - Care for Yourself.

Not only are individuals controlled and classified by external

powers, but they also control themselves through what

Foucault (1988b) calls technologies of the self. Foucault descri-bes technologies of the self as both the ethical relation to the

self and aesthetics of ones own life (Taylor, 2010:72). Rela-

tions with others are domains of power, and ethics is the do-

main of how we relate to ourselves or transform ourselves (Tay-

lor, 2010:ibid). To live ethically is to see life as a work of art

and ones own existence as an aesthetic project. The self is thus

seen as something which is created by the subject, rather than so-

mething predetermined which could be discovered or deciphered

(Taylor, 2010).

The individual is not only an effect of power and an object upon

which power is acted, but also its vehicle (Foucault, 1979:29)

and a necessary link which enables certain power operations

(OLeary, 2002), a practice as described by Foucault below:

I am interested...in the way in which the subject constitu-

tes himself..., by the practices of self, these practices are nevert-

heless not something that the individual invents by himself.

They are patterns that he finds in his culture and which are pro-

posed, suggested and imposed on him by his culture, his society

and his social group (Foucault, 1988c:11)

Through technologies of the self individuals act upon themselves

by the practice of certain operations in order to reach happiness,

purity, wisdom (Foucault, 1988b:18s), or any other characteri-

stics which symbolises an ethical and moral human. These

technologies have their origin in Greek culture where an impor-

tant practice was to take care of yourself and to be concerned

with oneself (Foucault, 1988b:21), two important principles

which constituted the social and personal conduct.

This leads me back to self-tracking which most certainly is an ac-

tivity where the individual acts upon oneself. One may question

what drives people to use technologies of the self to monitor

their own behaviour and collect data about their food intake,

sleep patterns and exercise. A main drive behind technologies of

the self is ethics and to fit into the contexts dichotomic moral co-

15


17/38

de. With moral code I refer to Foucaults notion of morality,

which is a set of values and rules of action that are recommen-

ded to individuals through the intermediary of various prescrip-

tive agencies such as the family in one of its roles, educational

institutions, churches, and so forth (Foucault&Hurley,

1990:25).

Morality also refers to the relationship between the real behavi-

or of individuals in relation to the rules and values recommen-

ded to them (Foucault&Hurley, 1990:25). Morality thus covers

how individuals comply...with a standard of conduct (ibid:25),

how they obey or resist (ibid:25) this conduct and how they re-

spect or disregard (ibid:25) the set of rules. These rules may be

explicitly communicated through teaching for instance, but

may also be acted out implicitly to develop a moral code or ide-al.

Both Greek -and Christian culture recognised and valued an

ascetic ideal where celibacy and renunciation from pleasure

was linked to a form of wisdom that brought them into direct

contact with some superior element in human nature and gave

them access to the very essence of truth (Foucault&Hurley,

1990:20). This makes me wonder if self-trackers who monitor

and restrict their behaviour, retrieve a similar feeling of wis-

dom, superiority and ability to access the truth.

According to quantified selfer Steve Dean, the simple act of

self-recording creates a sense of confidence that you can do

what you want to do (Christensen, 2013), which might be inter-

preted as a sign of superiority.

Within Greek -and Christian culture ethic and moral practices

were not only carried out with the aim to control desire. It symbo-

lized self-control, which was a public, theatrical display of ones

ethical worthiness (McNay, 1992:55) similar to the social sha-

ring of an individuals performance at the gym. Uncontrolled de-

sire or sexual activity was considered effecting the health of an

individual in a negative way (McNay, 1992:50).

A moral individual was thus associated with self-restraint, and

excess and surplus was associated with immorality (McNay,

1992:54). In order to be moral, individuals formed themselves as

ethical subjects through technologies of the self, also known to

Foucault as arts of existence (McNay, 1992:52) which he refers

to as those intentional and voluntary actions by which men not

only set themselves rules of conduct, but also seek to transformthemselves, to change themselves in their singular being, and to

make their life into oeuvre that carries certain aesthetic values

and meets certain stylistic criteria (Foucault&Hurley, 1990: 10-

11).

The moral action does not only work in its singularity since an

action is not only moral in itself...it is also moral in its

circumstantial integration and by virtue of the place it occupies

in a pattern of conduct (Foucault&Hurley, 1990:28). In order for

an act to be moral it can not be reducible to an act...conforming

to a rule, a law or a value, (Foucault&Hurley, 1990:28). A moral

action is thus not only an accomplishment on its own, it is a mo-

de of being characteristic of the ethical subject (Foucault&Hur-

ley, 1990:ibid). It involves the surrounding and the self, not as an

awareness of the self but as a way to transform the self as an ethi-

16


18/38

cal subject, deciding on a position to pursue and choosing what mode of be-

ing (Foucault&Hurley, 1990:28) will take her or him there. This in turn

requires him to act upon himself, to monitor, test, improve, and transform

himself (Foucault&Hurley, 1990:28).

Through codes set up by authorities individuals thus constitute themselves

as subjects of moral conduct (Foucault&Hurley, 1990:29) and constantly

reinforce the codes through acts of morality.

Through technologies of the self and technologies of domination, docile bo-

dies, bodies which may be transformed, used and improved, are produced

(Foucault, 1984d), which brings me back my main research question: To

what extent do new technologies of health monitoring and self-tracking pro-

duce docile bodies in search of a 'true self'?

The Discourse of Diet - The Pursuit for a Slim Body.

The act of monitoring one owns body through dieting is not new, and in or-

der to understand the norms of health and beauty which the body exists wit-

hin and which individuals are trying to pursue, one needs to analyse the po-

wers and discourse evolving around the fit body. With media constantly re-

minding us about our health and body through reports of new diets and he-

alth dangers we are constantly in contact with body ideals to pursue. The

preoccupation with dieting and body fat which exists today is neither abnor-mal (Bordo, 1993:186) nor something new. It functions as a powerful nor-

malizing mechanism...insuring the production of self-monitoring and self-

disciplining docile bodies sensitive to any departure from social norms and

habituated to self-improvement and self-transformation in the service of

those norms (Bordo, 1993:186). As food consumption provides clear mar-

kers of ethnicity, gender, class, and race, categories into which we are discip-

lined, the regulation and choice of food consumption may be seen as an et-

17

Between the media

images of self-

containment and self-

mastery and the reality

of constant, everyday

stress and anxiety

about ones appearance

lies the chasm that

produces bodies

habituated to self-

monitoring and self-

normalization

(Bordo, 1993:203)


19/38

hical and aesthetic self-transformative practice in the West

(Taylor, 2010:75), similar to how Foucault suggests that we

should form ourselves as ethical subjects (McNay, 1992:52).

According to Bordo (1993), the management of the body shape

and size fulfil two symbolic functions. First, it designates the in-

dividuals social position; class and gender, as excess body

weight reflects moral inadequacy or lack of will (Bordo,

1993:192). Secondly, the shape and size of the body indicates

the emotional, moral and spiritual state of the being (Bordo,

1993:ibid). As a slim and firm body has become a symbol of

correct attitude, reflecting that the individual cares about one-

self and has the willpower and ability to shape their life, the fat

body symbolises laziness, lack of discipline [AND] unwil-

lingness toconform (Bor-

do, 1993:195).

Muscles have

gone from

symbolising

manual la-

bour associa-

ted with sla-ves and lower

classes who

were seen to

be insensitive,

unintelligent and animalistic towards expressing controlled

and managed sexuality (Bordo, 1993:195). However, in order to

pursue a firm body the individual has to fight an ongoing battle

with the self, a battle which can be easily monitored through self-

tracking. Bordo associates this battle with Foucaults Greek ideal,

where the central element is an agonistic relation with the self

(Bordo, 1993:198). The practice of dieting was used as a purpose-

ful action for the individual to invest in his/her self and body,

forming oneself as a subject who had the proper, necessary andsufficient concern for his body (Foucault&Hurley, 1990:108),

rather than as a practice against an authority (Foucault&Hurley,

1990:107). Dietics, regimen, became a whole art of living, and

was a way for individuals to manage their existence through the

development of rules to conform to (Foucault&Hurley,1990:101).

The goal was a virile mastery of desire through constant spiritual

combat rather than to reach purity (Foucault&Hurley,

1990:101).

Self-management of the body and weight signifies constant

watchfulness over appetite (Bordo, 1993:202) and desire. The bo-

dy becomes a symbol of correct or incorrect attitudes toward the

demands of normalization itself (Bordo, 1993:203). Therefore,

the fit and slender body clearly melts into the norm and is accep-

ted by society, whereas someone who is obese and does not play

by the rules of the norm which others struggle with, should be pu-nished and humiliated (Bordo, 1993:203).

Individuals desire happiness in the culture they live in but at the

same time they need to feel that they are autonomous agents

responsible over their own decisions, which is why they motivate

their own choices as being made for themselves (Bordo,

1993:296). This is a common practice among individuals who ha-

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ve undergone plastic surgery, often explained as an action in or-

der to be attractive to yourself (Bordo, 1993:296). Is this an in-

dividual in control or an individual using dominating external

powers in order to control themselves?

As systematic knowledge about, for instance, the body increa-

ses, power relations especially with the exercise of social con-

trol over bodies in social spaces (Turner, 1991:157) increase as

well. Rather than liberating the body, it extends the existence

of social regulation (Turner, 1991). This is often done by crea-

ting knowledge about the body based on biologism, reducing

the complexity of life to essential components of our biological

make-up that are viewed as fixed and pre-given (Blackman,

2008:19).

An example of this is the popular and best-selling book Born

to run by Haruki Murakami which presents the human as a na-

tural hunter and runner, portraying those who are not runners

as unnatural. Another example of how biologism is used are the

numerous diets which claim to trace back to the natural diet of

the human. There is the 5:2 diet which presents food restric-

tion as something natural and healthy (referring to cave men

who did not know when their next meal was going to be ser-

ved), and the paleo diet which is also known as the caveman di-

et, encouraging a diet of nuts, berries and protein.

By setting up goals which are based on being or becoming natu-

ral, the story of the true and natural human is reproduced, thus

strengthening the belief of a pre-determined life, since biolo-

gism suggests that a true body exists. The perception of the bo-

dy as something which is only natural is dangerous and based on

biological determinism. We should instead understand discour-

se as foundational and the body as thoroughly text (Bordo,

1993:291), which is transformed and changed within the discour-

se and relations within in discourse.

Discipline within Fitness - The Use of Movement as a Po-

wer.

Markula & Pringle (2006) analysed the discourse of fitness, how

knowledge within the discourse is created, what objects of fitness

knowledge are and how concepts within the discourse are crea-

ted and organised. What they found was that knowledge and the-

ories that dominate the fitness discourse are based on medical,

psychological and physiological research, equalising fitness with

increased health. Medicine is thus used as a technique to exercise

power through (Zylinska, 2009:69).

The better our physical fitness, the better our predicted health

will be (Markula&Pringle, 2006:56) and by working out, an indi-

vidual is being told that they can lower their blood pressure,

increase their heart capacity and prevent diseases such as cancer,

cardiovascular failures and diabetes. This perception is known as

health-related fitness, which signifies the regulation and preven-tion of diseased bodies, through specific exercise prescription,

linking scientific knowledge and practice together into a discour-

sive field (Markula&Pringle, 2006:57).

An example of this is how the doctor at the health examination

always asks the patient about their exercise routine. The act of

confession reveals problems which the individual did not already

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know about themselves (Foucault, 1978). With the belief that

he or she will reach self-knowledge through revealing their in-

ner self, the individual is automatically being regulated and nor-

malized through the production of self-policing subjects

(McNay, 1992:87). By confessing, the subject is both the instru-

ment and effect of domination (McNay, 1992:87).

Power is literally incorporated or invested in the body,

most obviously perhaps through such practices as gymnastics

exercises, muscle-building, nuism, practices glorifying the bo-

dy beautiful, and insistent, meticulous work on the bodies of

children, hospital patients, keep-fit enthusiasts and sport parti-

cipants. Such work reproduces the social body: it exemplifies

the materiality of power and culture in the sense that social re-

lations are the outcome of material operations on the bodies ofindividuals carried out with the aid of a vast economy and

technology of control. The body is not the object of consensus -

it is the site of social struggles. (Hargreaves, 1986:13)

Through disciplinary technologies within a fitness centre or

through the workings of a fitness app, several different bodies

are produced. Bodies that are overweight, fit, unfit, beautiful,

masculine, feminine, muscular and emanciated (Marku-

la&Pringle: 2006:41). The apps ability to gather personal know-

ledge of the subject, via hierarchical observation, normalization

and the combination of both, is enabling the creation of discipli-

ned bodies. Through enabling measurements of weight, height

and BMI, which individualizes by making it possible to measu-

re gaps, to determine levels, to fix specialties and to render the

differences useful by fitting them one to another (Foucault&S-

heridan, 1991:184) one could argue that the process of normaliza-

tion is directly built into fitness apps. Individualisation ties indivi-

duals closer to the apps due to the ability to measure oneself with

the norm.

An effective tool for individualisation is examination, which me-

asures, classifies, differentiates, punishes, rewards, records and

qualifies subjects (Markula&Pringle, 2006:42). The act of exami-

nation does not only occur at hospitals or institutions but also

within sports and fitness, through tests and competitions where

performance is measured by time and place and individuals are

tracking their record. All these techniques of correcting, mea-

suring and supervising the subject can be summarised through

the notion of the Panopticon.

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22/38

The Panopticon was an architectural design of a building, divi-

ded into cells, with a tower in the middle overlooking the cells.

A patient or prisoner was positioned in every cell in such posi-

tion that they could be observed by someone in the watch to-

wer. However, they could never tell if they were observed or

not.

Foucault was very fascinated and inspired by the Panopticon as

it correlated with the different powers within society, offering

a particularly vivid instance of how political technologies of the

body function (Foucault, 1984d:18). The effect of the Panopti-

con was a state of consciousness and permanent visibility that

assures the automatic functioning of power (Foucault&Sheri-

dan, 1991:200) thus making the subject survey their behaviour

in a way that transform them into docile and self-regulatingsubjects.

This effect exists everywhere around us, not only through the

medicalisation and digitisation of populations in the sense that

various numerical, statistical, and informatic means of mana-

ging and regularizing groups of bodies are being established

and widely implemented (Zylinska, 2009:69), but could also

be linked to the act of self-tracking through for instance Jawbo-

ne Up. When an individual connects their tracking device to so-

cial networks such as Facebook and Twitter, they never know

whether they are observed or not, since it is impossible to know

who or if someone sees the individuals update. Ubiquitous de-

vices that automatically track steps, sleep activity or brain

focus but lack the sharing function act in the same manner,

through the constant knowledge of being surveilled.

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23/38

Case study of Jawbone Up:Future Scenarios withinSelf-Tracking

The Tracking Functions of Jawbone Up.

Jawbone Up (right picture) is a

wearable activity tracking wrist-

band, with a trendy design,

available in five different co-

lours. The device is water-

proof, made of rubber to be

worn 24 hours a day and has a built-in step counter, calorie

tracker and sleep tracker. It does not have a display but comes

with a smart phone app (picture below) which presents the in-

dividuals data in a user-friendly way. Jawbone Up does not

only track calories or

steps taken, it also

enables the individualto through the app it-

self either take photos

of, or scan the bar co-

de of the food they

eat, thus presenting

and visualising the in-

dividuals calorie inta-

ke as well (http://jawbone.com/up). Individuals who use func-tions that enables them to record what they eat, compared to

individuals who do not log their food intake, have according to

the producers behind Jawbone Up lost weight (Paddock,

2013a).

Jawbone Up, as many other self-tracking devices, uses generic

measurements for food intake and calorie output, as opposed

22
http://jawbone.com/uphttp://jawbone.com/up


24/38

to the recommendations followed by the Greeks where perso-

nalised food -and drink quotas, schedules and personal adapt-

ment proved important in order to form oneself in the correct

personalised way (Foucault&Hurley, 1990:111).

So why does someone decide to track their food intake? One

may compare it with the incitaments of vegetarianism and the

choice not to eat meat - an askesis with the goal to explore

new sensuous pleasures for the self (Taylor:2010:80). In the

same manner, Jawbone Up may be seen as an askesis used to

control ones desires and reach new energy levels.

Although the concept of regimen remains the same today,

technologies such as Jawbone Up, have made it easier to keep

track of and remind individuals of their regimen. It has also

enabled invididuals to store large quantities of data regarding

their regimen, digital data which might be more precise, natu-

ral and true than the analogue data from taking notes. Does

this precision tie individuals closer to their regimen and discip-

linary powers? Know Yourself, Live Better is Jawbone Ups

tagline. And by using Jawbone Up, individuals discover in-

sights about their lifestyle which they did not know of (or

simply did not think of) before, thus encouraging them to act

on the insights and live healthier lives.

Jawbone Up as an Extension of the Normative Health

Prescription - There is Always Something to Work

On.

GAIN INSIGHT INTO YOURSELF - UP not only visualizes

your information so you can understand the meaning behind

the numbers, it also discovers hidden connections in the way

you live to deliver powerful insights. Over time, insights leadto new behaviors and new behaviors become new, healthier

habits. (Jawbone.com)

As seen in this quote, Jawbone Up suggests that their device

can help individuals live a healthier life, through tracking of

their behaviour and gaining insights from their data. Howe-

23


25/38

ver, as soon as someone use self-tracking as a technology of

the self, they are always bound by the power of institutions

and social relations, and by their disciplinary and constrai-

ning effects (Zylinska, 2009:78) since self-creation always ex-

ists within a context and cannot occure in a vacuum. An ex-

ample of these disciplinary effects is how Jawbone Up reflects

a health prescription which is based on truths invented as adisciplinary power within human sciences. Examples of such

truths may be the recommendation of eight hour sleep per

night, regular exercise and the benefits of eating fruit and vege-

tables.

In the same way as a coach through hierarchical observation

can add additional workout for the unfit and skill training for

the unskilled (Markula&Pringle, 2006), a device such as Jaw-

bone Up may coach an individual through messages which on

the surface seem encouraging but also function as a disciplina-

ry power. An example of this is how it analyses an individuals

sleep data in order to predict whether an individual is recom-

mended to take a short or long power nap. The health prescrip-

tion is additionally pushed to individuals through daily mes-

sages and tips on how to improve their health.

An example of such messages (right picture) could be: Try

This: Standing is good medicine..., Try This: People that sync

more than once a day tend to log more

(http://jawbone.com/up), or the built-in function which ma-

kes the wristband vibrate after a certain amount of inactive ti-

me, thus reminding the individual to move. Jawbone Up does

not only track data and encourage the individual to move.

It also tracks the individuals sleep and functions as an alarm

clock, vibrating when it is time for the individual to wake up.

For many individuals, Jawbone Up is thus the first thing they

interact with on a daily basis. What implications does this con-

stant tracking have on an individuals identity?

Jawbone Ups automatic tracking can be compared to the gaze

of an audience which projects a normalizing judgement on the

individual who in turn is encouraged to act normal (Marku-

la&Pringle, 2006:42) - an inspecting gaze...which each

individual...will end up interiorising to the point that he is his

own overseer, each individual thus exercising this surveillance

over, and against himself

(Foucault, 1980:155). The act of

such self-surveillance is an instru-

ment of disciplinary power and

can function as a means of correct

training (Markula&Pringle,

2006:59), aiming towards being or

becoming natural.

As the discourse of health and fit-

ness frequently refers to the con-

cept of the natural (Blackman,

2008) as in the natural human

and the natural functions of the bo-

dy, often involving movement, it

might be suggested that many of

Jawbone Ups functions work as a

way of correcting individuals into

24

l f b i I d f ll h ib d d i
http://jawbone.com/uphttp://jawbone.com/uphttp://jawbone.com/up


26/38

a natural state of being. In order to follow the prescribed recommendations,

the individual has to constantly surveil their activity, from duration,

frequency to intensity (Markula&Pringle, 2006), a behaviour which techno-

logies such as Jawbone Up enables automatically. The instant feedback in

forms of numbers functions as a reward for the individual and motivates

him or her to continue towards the prescribed goal (Paddock, 2013b).

The concept of monitoring and the process of remembering malpractice and

misery rather than good achievements is based upon moral conduct (Volf,

2006), which has turned self-tracking from being a geeky hobby into a mo-

ral obligation, not only towards ourselves but towards others and humanity

(Morozov, 2013). This goes hand in hand with Foucaults belief of the de-

ciphering of the self not as a liberation of a true or essential inner nature,

but rather as an obligation (McNay, 1992:89). Morality and self-tracking

are thus connected, an interesting conclusion which was discovered in a

study about the medical benefits of health tracking, showing how partici-

pants automatically focused on reprimand-data such as how much time do

I waste rather than positive reinforment such as how much productive ti-

me do I have (Beaudin et al., 2006).

Disciplined bodies are created through the ways in which norms and regula-

tory ideals become incorporated into subjects internal forms of selfmonito-

ring and selfregulation (Blackman, 2008:25). This happens through inculca-

tion (frequent repetition with active participation) rather than imposition

(forcing a duty or burden on someone (Blackman, 2008)). Jawbone up enab-

les such procedures which become engrained and embodied in such a way

that they appear automatic and natural (Blackman, 2008:26).

Jawbone Ups pre-programmed positive commands act on and through an

individuals self-forming practices so that individuals come to want or desi-

25

I can quantify my

progress in

increasingly detailed

ways and feel

motivated by my small

successes and

continued self-

improvement. Its

completely changed my

approach to exercise

and encourages me to

do more of it, which can

only be a good thing

(Reece, 2013).

Read about this quote

on page 26.

t i f b i d d i f th l th d thus deciding to aim towards decreasing their body fat without


27/38

re certain ways of being and doing for themselves thus produ-

cing docile bodies through disciplinary power, as exemplified

in the quote on the previous page by self-tracker James Reece.

Individualisation of the Health Prescription - Is this

Me or the Norm?

The process of setting up the device, entering the first name,sex, height, weight and birthdate, in order for the device to cal-

culate for instance calories burned per day

(Forums.jawbone.com 2012) may through its categorising ef-

fects easily be understood as a process of individualisation. The

data is used as a framework which through an algorithm calcu-

lates and produces a generic prescription, based on other self-

trackers of for instance that exact individuals recommended

calorie intake per day. One may question how these genericnumbers reflect the cultural norms within the discourse, re-

flected by other selftrackers, and in turn through the individual

which through the use of the generic measurements reproduce

the norms.

On the contrary, there is no guarantee that the individual who

through comparing their own data in form of weight and body

fat with the norm of someone of their own age and gender willfit into the norm, which may result in the individual deciding

not to pursue the goal suggested. An example of this may be

how the norm of becoming a healthy individual tells the indivi-

dual to keep their body fat low. The lowest body fat index for

women is 14-20 percent which is the level of an athlete, a defi-

nition which the individual may not identify themselves with,

thus deciding to aim towards decreasing their body fat without

any specific goal or target ideal. As a result of this, the individual

creates their own context and use their own data as a model of

what they do not want to be, rather than what they are aiming to

become, similar to a pilgrim who always look towards the hori-

zon for their true identity (Bauman, 1996).

This path is however less likely to walk down due to societys ob-

session for progress. Progress is an easy path to follow for most

self-trackers who in general are expected to narrate their own li-

ves, connecting their stories more or less closely to pre-existing

narratives, such as the idea of progress (Poster, 2006:129).

Distinguishing the Body and the Self - The Faulty Divi-

sion between Being and Doing.

As mentioned in my literature review, many self-trackers believe

that the capturing of data may lead to new insights about the hu-

man body, and to the deciphering of a truth, either concerning

the natural human or life itself. These insights and truths are

used by the individual in order to transform and enhance their

bodies. The body is thus in many ways seen as a machine where

certain parts may be exchanged or optimized through the emer-

gence of new technologies and practices which enable the enhan-cement, alteration and invention of new bodies (Blackman,

2008:2).

The term new technologies refers to Nikolas Roses technologi-

es of enhancement (Blackman, 2008), which are technologies

that enhances and changes what we know of as life itself, through

genes, cloning and neurotransmitters, technologies known to ha-

26

ve the potential to improve selfhood vitality health and lifesty If we can have a complete record of the things about peop


28/38

ve the potential to improve selfhood, vitality, health and lifesty-

le (Blackman, 2008:2). These new technologies changes the de-

finition of the body and identity, thus creating an impression of

fluidity, similar to Baumans pilgrimage and Halls fluid identiti-

es. The fluidity means that the present can always be replaced

by a future scenario, since what exists in the future is always

more true and correct than what exists in this very moment.

This excitement about the future results in big hopes towards

enhancement technologies, as well as produces deterministic

claims on how technology will change human nature. However,

what is often forgotten in the human-machine debate is the hu-

man. It is for instance no mistake that the first chapter Fitness

and the Human Codebase: Reboot Your Operating System in

Bruce W.Perrys book Fitness for Geeks, where Perry equals

the human body to code, starts out with the sentence:

Were all born with preinstalled software, our human codeba-

se. The genome. (Perry, 2012:3).

If this means that all individuals are programmable to act out

certain operations, then are we not only docile bodies? Another

statement which simplifies human characteristics into data was

made by Gordon Bell, one of the first to wear a camera in orderto track his life. He describes the act of self-tracking, or life-log-

ging as he calls it, as empowering since it makes you the cura-

tor of your life (Bell&Gemmel, 2009:5), and gives the individu-

al the opportunity to memorise less and yet at the same time re-

member more.

If we can have a complete record of the things about peop-

le that especially provoke meaning for us, what will we do with

this complete record when they are gone? We will maintain the

e-memory of that person as a treasured heirloom. And, some-

day, we will ask it questions. The e-memory will answer. You

will have virtual immortality (Bell&Gemmel, 2009: 139)

By discussing memory as something which can be stored digital-

ly for future scenarios, one suggests that the mind (through me-

mory) and the material body are separate entities, a common

view among those who view self-tracking as an instrument to de-

cipher the truth.

It is easy to feel like we are getting enough exercise, but

what we feel and what we do may create a reality gap. It

did for me. Devices such as Fitbit and FuelBand can help us

bridge that gap. (Mertz, 2013)

This statement creates a gap between being and doing, gives

agency to technology and suggests that technology drives huma-

nity forward through progress and enhancement. By viewing

self-tracking as an instrument towards a goal, the focus is no

longer about the tracking of numbers and the process of reaching

the goal, but rather of reaching the goal and deciphering thetruth of for example human memory.

Quantified Self founder Wolf (2010) believes that self-tracking

can help us decipher this truth since it is a dry, abstract, mecha-

nical type of knowledge [WHICH THROUGH] numbering things

allows tests, comparisons, experiments [WHICH IN TURN] ma-

ke problems less resonant emotionally but more tractable intel-

27

lectually thus helping individuals to resist from subjectivity An example of this is the popular implementation of corporate


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lectually thus helping individuals to resist from subjectivity

and avoid emotions (Morozov, 2013). Hence, being and do-

ing are separated once again, suggesting that being is con-

nected to passive human attributes and doing to active machi-

nic attributes. In the same way as Wolf distinguishes being

from doing, Foucault, through his notion of docile bodies ma-

kes the mistake of distinguishing the mind from the body(Blackman, 2008:27), as power is implicitly used on the mind,

and through the mind controls the body.

A docile body is described to follow rules, commands and di-

scipline in an almost machinic manner, but does it really not

have any agency to resist the working of disciplinary power

through reflection or action? Enhancement technologies has

had large impact on our ontology and our understanding of life

itself and the body, but they cannot act on their own since

technology and society and human and machines co-exist as

technoculture and cyborgs (Haraway, 1991).

The Production of Docile Employees Through the Pa-

nopticon.

Similar to how corporations are able to discipline employees

and manage the production of docile bodies through timetablesand surveillance cameras at the work place, they may also

disclipline the employees through governing their health - resul-

ting in the creation of healthy and productive employees. Howe-

ver, the connection between corporate policy, management

strategy, and sleep/related medical and self-help advice

(Brown, 2004:175) is new and is developing quickly.

An example of this is the popular implementation of corporate

exercise programs and competitions where the fittest or healt-

hiest employee wins a price, either a gym card or another item re-

lated to the discourse of health. This practice may be seen as a

way to create subjects and docile bodies through a machinery of

power that explores it, breaks it down, and rearranges it

(Foucault, 1984d:182).

Imagine a big hotel chain which sets up a one-month exercise

contest aimed towards their front desk employees. Each emplo-

yee is provided with a Jawbone Up and are told to keep track of

their exercise routine and data, numbers which may constantly

be monitored, but are collected in person once a week. By the

end of the month, the employee who has exercised the most and

lost most calories wins. Not only does the hotel monitor their em-

ployees through Jawbone Up, they are also creating rules and

conduct which the employees follow through self-regulation, sin-

ce workers can be governed and learn to govern themselves

(Brown, 2004:175). By using Jawbone Up during the contest,

which comes with a large community which their boss and collea-

gues might be using, they are locked into a Panopticon which au-

tomatically produces a behaviour of self-regulation since people

who are recorded tend to want to portray themselves and their

lives as healthy (Adams, 2013).

Remote Tracking - Your GP in Your Pocket.

The wearable computing devices market is growing in a fast pa-

ce, especially within health and fitness, and it is important not to

forget that many of the future research projects regarding health

28

and weartech (wearable technology) may be supported or fun- ing since she each day felt as if her self-worth was tied to the data


30/38

and weartech (wearable technology) may be supported or fun

ded by governments, which can be understood as a neolibera-

listic governmentality that produces subjects, [AND] forms

of...behavior (Brown, 2005:37) aiming towards moral auto-

nomy (Brown, 2005:42). As corporations and the state favors

from healthy citizens and employees it is in their interest to con-

tinue governing individuals, which is made even easier if the in-dividuals themselves become self-regulating subjects.

E-health and health monitoring through mobile devices is belie-

ved to be changing medicine, through the ability to monitor vi-

tal health and behaviour. Samsungs health app Samsung S He-

alth is currently compared to having a GP in the pocket (Reece,

2013) and weight experts hope that food tracking apps can

turn cronic dieters into healthy eaters (Alderman, 2010).

However, the downside of apps which measure and track every

step taken or calorie eaten, is how they can fuel obsessive thin-

king around food and exercise creating serious problem for pe-

ople with eating disorders such as anorexia or bulimia (Freed,

2012). Alexandra Carmichael, the current director of Quanti-

fied Self in the U.S and co-founder of Cure Together, an online

forum for self-treatment of illnesses, argues that self-improve-

ment is not an easy path to go along since it creates a lot of pres-

sure. The pressure of caring for oneself, is described by

Foucault as a thorn which must be struck in mens flesh, dri-

ven into their existence, and which is a principle of restlessness

and movement, of continuous concern throughout life

(Foucault, 2005:8). This thorn made Carmichael quit her track-

ing since she each day felt as if her self worth was tied to the data

(Lewis, 2012).

Not only is medicine believed to be changing through the process

of individuals monitoring their health. Doctors will also be able

to monitor the individuals remotely in order to detect health

issues (Humphries, 2012). This kind of tracking is something

which Morozov (2013) describes as a perfect hoarding target for

our hypercapitalist age (p.231) since the devices are small, mobi-

le, lucrative (p.231).

When self-tracking is incorporated in this way it becomes a

technology of domination, similar to the practices used in factori-

es, which functions as a secularized asceticism which precludes

unruly gratification and spontaneous enjoyment (Featherstone

et al., 1991:158) in order to produce docile bodies. Though manypatients may feel as if, through tracking, they are in control (Nor-

ris, 2012), as the data not only becomes available to the private

corporations developing the devices but also to the government

and hospital through doctors, this self-control should only be re-

garded as an illusion.

It is difficult to talk about self-control when the individuals beha-

viour changes without them taking any notice, as mentioned bydiabetes self-tracker Bailey who never thought of it [the diabe-

tes monitor] as a behaviour modification device, and thats what

it turned out to be (Norris, 2012). Even doctors worry about how

self-tracking will make patients becoming obsessed with data

and ignoring the larger issue of holistic wellness and how this

29

kind of data almost lets the patient live and dwell in something ditions defined by their preferences and privacy policy (Hof et


31/38

kind of data almost lets the patient live and dwell in something

that you would rather have them to say (Beaudin et al., 2006).

Remote health-monitoring enhances the practice of confession

as the automatic tracking may be seen as an extended doctors

examination. An individual might for example gain insights

about their food intake which does not correlate with the norm.

Since the insight is a result of raw digital data created through

self-tracking, it is considered more true than insights revealed

at a visit at the NHS as you cant just lie to your doctorits all

there, recorded. You cut right to the chase rather than having

to tease out all that information (Humphries, 2012), thus cate-

gorising the individual, discovering things about the body to

work on and turning him or her into a self-regulating subject.

Does this make the process of confession through health moni-toring devices more regulating (and effective in producing doci-

le bodies) than an actual appointment with a doctor?

It is Your Data About Your Life, But Who Owns it?

Although self-tracking may be seen as a technology of the self,

used by citizens towards biopolitics, an interesting question is

whether the control of data lies in the hands of the self-trackers

or corporations which develop the devices and apps, as well as

control and own the databases with the information.

While individuals seem happy to share their most personal da-

ta with these corporations, initiatives such as the European Pri-

me Project are developed to enable individuals to negotiate

with service providers the disclosure of personal data and con-

y p p y p y (

al., 2011:27). Personal data is slowly becoming a new asset, next

to wheat and cattle (Morozov, 2013:235), sold as marketing in-

sights to insuring companies and advertising agencies and in or-

der for individuals to keep their privacy and protect their data,

they have to pay for it. Examples of this is the website and

serviceDaytum.com where individuals can store their self-track-

ing data and either use the service for free and keep their data

public or become a paying subcriber to keep the data private (Mo-

rozov, 2013:235).The founder of Daytum.com is open with howtheir business model works; If you want privacy, you have to pay

for it which goes hand in hand with the debate around freemium

models and web services based upon the quote: If you are not

paying for the product, you are the product (Metafilter.com, ano-

nymous user, 2010).

30

The act of regimen and dieting has existed for thousands of ye-


32/38

Conclusion

Technologies of self-tracking and health monitoring, such as

Jawbone Up, do to some extent create docile bodies, as in my

definition: individuals who without reflecting over their beha-

viour do follow a certain regimen in order to pursue a pre-pro-duced ideal. However, as long as self-tracking is not actively

and directly connected to powers of domination which forces

the individual to wear a tracking device, the process of self-

tracking itself is a voluntary action. I am not saying that self-

tracking today exists outside powers of domination since ever-

ything is intraconnected, but the act of self-tracking itself

should be seen as a frame and the regimen within this frame

as the content which may produce docile bodies. The content

reflects the governmental health prescription as well as norms

and ideals of a healthy body ideal, norms which we are all part

of producing, reproducing and sustaining. In order to under-

stand how this correlates with self-tracking, let me tell you a

story.

g g y

ars. Though dominating powers judged individuals and

pushed them into becoming moral citizens, regimen itself was

considered an ethical and caring act towards the self in order

for individuals to transform themselves into ethical beings, si-

milar to pilgrimage. Along the way, in the search for an ethical

and true identity, individuals struggle with dominating po-wers that push certain norms and identities in their way, blin-

ding them from the goal which lies in the horison. The ground

in front of them keeps changing. Wind and rain transform the

landscape into a blurry pathway. The goal lies ahead, although

truths, body ideals and routines within society are created to

categorise and measure the individual with. The dominating

powers are through controlling the individuals body, produ-

cing bodies which work as machines, disconnecting the mindand body. The individual see how others around them change

but however continues their pilgrimage towards the ethical

self. It is easy to get lost along the way. To confuse one owns

will and thoughts about the self with the ideals of the discour-

se which one exists within, since they all blend together.

Although regimen is seen as a technology of the self by

Foucault, it can never be a free choice which an individual un-

dertake for themselves, since it is produced through and aro-

und norms within the discourse of health. This remains, re-

gardless of how the regimen is undertaken, although following

a regimen with the help of technology makes it easier to produ-

ce docile bodies, through the constant feedback and alerts aro-

und regimen.

31

Technology or self-tracking do not produce docile bodies, indi-


33/38

gy g p

viduals themselves do through their involvement in any regi-

men, since the line between a discoursive ideal and an ethical

ideal formed by oneself is almost non-existing. I do not oppose

that technologies of the self, such as dieting, can be used as an

act towards oneself. However, since power is relational, exis-

ting everywhere, either tied up as relations between people, asnorms within discourses or in between the production of

truths, dominating powers and oneself, an individual always ex-

ists within power relations. The prescription for the individual

to stay free with a clear pathway towards the horison, is there-

fore about awareness and staying critical towards oneself and

the surrounding, rather than understanding the power rela-

tions as binary oppositions; liberation and domination or

oppression and repression. I would like to examplify the com-plexities which the individual is faced with in this process

through Ladelle McWhorters question:

How can I affirm the truth of my normalized (homo)

sexual identity while at the same time I refuse the

cancellation of freedom and the foreclosure of beco-

ming that sexual identities have produced? (McWhor-ter, 1999:80).

How can I, use technologies for self-tracking and health monito-

ring as a way to enhance my body, and at the same time refuse

the production of normative bodies?

32


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Bibliography

Books

Bauman, Z. 1996. From Pilgrim to Tourist - Or a Short Histo-

ry of Identity. In:

Documents

To Live is to Keep Track: Self-tracking and the Price of Finding the True Self