Internet of Things

6The Quantified Self and Mobile Health Applications: From Information and Communication Sciences to Social Innovation by Design

6.1. Introduction

Connected objects and portable screens are being integrated into our everyday lives little by little. They are becoming smaller, increasingly ergonomic and less and less perceptible when worn on the human body. They can collect physiological, behavioral and geo-localized data. As a result, a culture of a body that is more equipped with technological objects that make it possible to collect, store and visualize personal information about the self is developing. To that extent, we have entered into “the culture of the Quantified Self” [LAM 14], based on the self-measurement of personal parameters and interconnection between portable screens, connected objects and social networks. Numerous objects with increasingly elaborate devices accompany athletes or simple citizens who want to gather data on themselves. Chris Dancy is a striking example of this practice. This North American resident collects large quantities of data about himself day and night. Between 2010 and 2013 he lost a large amount of weight as a result of the impact of biofeedback, which allowed him to use information technologies linked to each other via the Internet of Things. His physical transformation was displayed on the multiple platforms that make up his digital identity in such a way that it constitutes a paradigmatic example of the possibility of modifying the ...