Year: 2015
Type: dissertation
Abstract: The proliferation of technological enhancements has fundamentally changed the\nrelationship between the individual and technology. One particular change is the\nincreased dispersion of technology in everyday experiences through personalized\ninformation technology (IT), such as smartphones, laptops, tablets and wearable\ntechnology. This development has brought about the rise of experiential\ncomputing, which refers to the “mediation of embodied experiences in every day\nactivities through everyday artifacts that have embedded computing capabilities”\n(Yoo, 2010, p.213; Jain, 2003). The emphasis is thus placed on the relationship\nthat occurs between the user and technology as the lived experience is mediated to\nthe user through data dashboard. This potentially transformative relationship is\nboth intimate and complex and spurs the research interest, which asks how the\nuser is influenced by the exposure to personal data captured by experiential\ncomputing devices and how it alters the perception of personal performance.\nOne type of activity stemming from the dispersion of experiential computing is\nself-tracking. Self-tracking is a way for the user to capture and measure intimate\ndetails of the self, by using IT to collect, index and analyze personal data on life\nexperiences. For example, the user might use an activity tracker, like the Jawbone\nUP, to gather numerical data on daily step and sleep activity. The exposure to this\ndata may transform or distort the way the user initially perceived the activity by\ngetting a new visual expression of what has occurred.\nTo better understand the user’s reaction and counter-reactions to using experiential\ntools, this research suggests placing the focus on the user and analyzing it through\na behavioral economics perspective. This is done by conducting empirical studies\nwith a mixed method approach. The first study is a field study that investigates the\ninfluence on performance and perception by wearing a self-tracking device. The\nsecond study is an in-depth interview study that studies experienced self-trackers\nby exploring further into the perceptions of the user.\nThis dissertation contributes to a deeper understanding of how the self-tracking\nuser is affected by the use of experiential computing devices and the subsequent\nexposure to personal data. The findings suggest that the user’s analysis steps and\nsleep performance goes through a complex reflective process after the exposure to\ndata that influences the perception of the initial experience. When this process\ninvolves unsatisfactory data, the user will reject the data and adopts coping tactics.\nThe coping tactics are dismissal, procrastination, selective attention and\nintentional neglect.
Author: Mimmi Sjöklint
Institution: Copenhagen Business School
Language: English
Subfield: Human-Computer Interaction
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2936137384