Speaker
Description
Considering the rising numbers of people who engage in fitness practices, physical well-being and active lifestyle, the concept of fitness and exercise has been infused with digital tracking instruments. This study explores the experiences of long-term users of sports watches and Strava. The study draws on a series of 10 individual interviews and participant observations with fitness enthusiasts in fitness centres and outdoor running tracks. I explore the paradoxical facets of how surveillance and monitoring technologies shape fitness enthusiasts' experiences and thoughts about their moving bodies in fitness spaces. Drawing on Foucauldian concepts of the technologies of the self and panopticism, the study delves into the nuances of the use of self-tracking technologies. The findings convey how fitness enthusiasts negotiate the blurry lines between their fitness practices and consuming real-time biometric data. I present my findings in four main themes: (1) accessorising the body (2) surveilling the body (3) listening to the body (4) knowing the body. For fitness enthusiasts who accessorise and surveil their bodies, I argue that digital self-tracking technologies can inspire them to new forms of freedom, empowerment, and self-knowledge (technologies of the self) in their everyday fitness practices. However, the surveillance gaze (panopticism) from other individuals and performance metric features on Strava and sports watches could become more impactful than the experience (turning freedom into discipline).
