Inexperienced exercisers at risk of harm from fitness trackers
People with limited experience of physical activity who are trying to get fit are the most vulnerable to emotional and psychological harm from wearable fitness trackers, a new study led by Nottingham Business School (NBS) has found.
Researchers interviewed 30 Fitbit users to understand how people interact with wearable self‑tracking devices in their everyday lives, and the impact it had on their wellbeing.
The study identified three main usage styles: light users who wear the tracker for monitoring but with limited responsiveness to its cues and notifications; fluctuant users who switch between high intensity and minimal engagement; and intensive users who displayed high levels of compliance and reward seeking from their device.
Those who were using their device intensively to work towards new fitness goals but had limited experience of physical activity were most likely to become dependent on default targets and approval - relying heavily on the device to tell them whether they are succeeding.
They were more likely to trust step counts, sleep scores and prompts over their own judgement, and often felt pressure to meet the tracker’s targets regardless of how they feel physically or other pressures of their day.
They also regularly made comparisons and reported scrutinising what others are achieving and comparing it to their own metrics.
Participants described feeling depressed, anxious, guilty or like they had “failed” when they did not meet device‑set goals, with some altering their social plans or daily routines to satisfy the tracker. In the most extreme cases, the study found that intensive use could worsen compulsive or obsessive disorders, including eating disorders, resulting in serious harm.
In contrast, people who already saw themselves as active or athletic, with established exercise habits and confidence, were much less affected by their device. They used trackers lightly, ignored inaccurate data, and treated the technology as a helpful extra rather than a judge of their performance.
Lead researcher, Dr Sahar Bakr, senior lecturer and researcher in marketing at NBS, part of Nottingham Trent University, said: “While we certainly acknowledge the role of the persuasive and decontextualised nature of self-tracking devices, our findings suggest that the harm doesn’t come from the devices themselves but from how users understand and react to the data and rely on it for validation.
“People trying to get fit, lose weight, recover from illness or restart exercise after a break are in a vulnerable transitionary stage, and device‑driven metrics which they believe are absolute truth can amplify insecurities rather than support healthy habits.”
The study, carried out in conjunction with marketing researchers from the University of Nottingham, calls for fitness‑tracking brands to recognise the pressure their designs can create and urges developers to incorporate safer, more personalised features, to safeguard vulnerable users.
Suggested improvements include adaptive goal‑setting, gentler default targets, and clearer communication about the limits and inaccuracies of fitness tracking data. Public health bodies and fitness organisations should also educate new users about interpreting tracker data critically.
Dr Bakr added: “Without greater attention to how people use these devices, especially those with lower confidence, fitness trackers risk contributing to long‑term emotional harm, even if users eventually stop using them.”
The study Building understanding of digital vulnerability: an exploration of wearable self-tracker usage practices has been published in the journal Internet Research.