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Self-Tracking

Empirical and Philosophical Investigations

  • Book
  • © 2018

Overview

Editors:
  1. Btihaj Ajana

    1. Digital Humanities, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom

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  • Grounds the discussion about self-tracking and self-measurement in empirical studies, an important contribution to the ongoing debate
  • Explores the cultural significance and implications of self-tracking practices and the Quantified Self culture
  • Contributes towards an enhanced and more critical understanding of the role of self-tracking technologies and practices in everyday life

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Table of contents (9 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xiv
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction

    • Btihaj Ajana
    Pages 1-10

  3. Engagement and the Quantified Self: Uneventful Relationships with Ghostly Companions

    • Paolo Ruffino
    Pages 11-25

  4. Apps as Companions: How Quantified Self Apps Become Our Audience and Our Companions

    • Jill Walker Rettberg
    Pages 27-42

  5. Human/Technology Associations in Self-Tracking Practices

    • Dorthe Brogård Kristensen, Carolin Prigge
    Pages 43-59

  6. Social Media and Self-Tracking: Representing the ‘Health Self’

    • Rachael Kent
    Pages 61-76

  7. Self-Tracking as the Mobilisation of the Social for Capital Accumulation

    • Chris Till
    Pages 77-91

  8. The Quantified Workplace: A Study in Self-Tracking, Agility and Change Management

    • Phoebe Moore, Lukasz Piwek, Ian Roper
    Pages 93-110

  9. Data Privacy: Users’ Thoughts on Quantified Self Personal Data

    • Keith Spiller, Kirstie Ball, Arosha Bandara, Maureen Meadows, Ciaran McCormick, Bashar Nuseibeh et al.
    Pages 111-124

  10. Communal Self-Tracking: Data Philanthropy, Solidarity and Privacy

    • Btihaj Ajana
    Pages 125-141

  11. Back Matter

    Pages 143-155
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Keywords

About this book

This book provides an empirical and philosophical investigation of self-tracking practices. In recent years, there has been an explosion of apps and devices that enable the data capturing and monitoring of everyday activities, behaviours and habits. Encouraged by movements such as the Quantified Self, a growing number of people are embracing this culture of quantification and tracking in the spirit of improving their health and wellbeing. 

The aim of this book is to enhance understanding of this fast-growing trend, bringing together scholars who are working at the forefront of the critical study of self-tracking practices. Each chapter provides a different conceptual lens through which one can examine these practices, while grounding the discussion in relevant empirical examples. 


From phenomenology to discourse analysis, from questions of identity, privacy and agency to issues of surveillance and tracking at the workplace, this edi
ted collection takes on a wide, and yet focused, approach to the timely topic of self-tracking. It constitutes a useful companion for scholars, students and everyday users interested in the Quantified Self phenomenon.

Reviews

“This is an eye-opening book. Our digital selves are so used to data sharing, often without questioning how this data is used, where it is stored and, in the end, for what purpose. I am not negative towards these advanced technologies, e.g. GPS. But having read this book … makes me think about – not only how our modern societies and self-representations are constructed– but also – how should we apprehend them and to what extent accept them. I recommend this book warmly.” (Anne L.C. Runehov, ESSSAT News & Reviews, Vol. 31 (2), June, 2021)

Editors and Affiliations

  • Digital Humanities, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom

    Btihaj Ajana

About the editor

Btihaj Ajana is Associate Professor and Marie Curie Fellow at Aarhus Institute of Advanced Studies, Denmark. She is also a Senior Lecturer at the department of Digital Humanities, King’s College London. Her academic work is interdisciplinary in nature, spanning areas of digital culture, media praxis, and biopolitics. She is the author of Governing through Biometrics: The Biopolitics of Identity (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013). 

Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: Self-Tracking

  • Book Subtitle: Empirical and Philosophical Investigations

  • Editors: Btihaj Ajana

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-65379-2

  • Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham

  • eBook Packages: Social Sciences, Social Sciences (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s) 2018

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-319-65378-5Published: 18 October 2017

  • Softcover ISBN: 978-3-319-88012-9Published: 18 May 2018

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-319-65379-2Published: 01 October 2017

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XIV, 155

  • Number of Illustrations: 7 b/w illustrations

  • Topics: Science and Technology Studies, Medical Sociology, Ethnography, Big Data/Analytics, Digital/New Media

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